Revising VA Disability Appeals
Was your Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claim denied? Although the VA should send the denial reason to you with an informational packet, different regional offices may include short or confusing statements. Every claim is different, but a few claim system success tips can help you make your next appeal more successful.
You Can Appeal As Much As You Want
The VA understands that the process can be difficult, and except for extreme circumstances such as blatant forgery, you can appeal a claim or appeal decision as many times as you want.
It's in your best interest to succeed as soon as possible. The longer you wait and the more times you're denied, the longer you go without monetary compensation and/or detailed medical support for the conditions listed in your claim.
Be sure to appeal the decision within a year. You're entitled to back payment beginning at your claim's effective date, but that back date can be broken if you fail to appeal in time. After a year, you will lose your back payment rights and any future, successful claim payment will be based on the most recent active effective date.
Double Check Your Evidence For Official Verification
For a claim to be approved, the condition(s) in the claim must be service-connected. This means having proof that your condition was caused by military service or happened during your military service years and that the condition is currently a problem.
You don't have to be in a workplace incident such as falling down stairs or caught in machinery to have a service-connection, and it doesn't have to be a wartime injury. If the incident happened on or off duty, on or off leave, or any time during your active duty or drilling reservist service, it counts.
For the condition to count as a current problem, you need to have a medical review after military service showing that you're still suffering. Breaking an arm or leg in the service won't get you a disability claim success on its own, as some people recover fully. That said, you can and should schedule careful medical examination to be sure, as you may not feel a problem that could become worse in the future.
Non-VA Legal And Medical Assistance
If your disability claim or appeal was turned down despite medical evidence from a licensed doctor that spells out in plain words "this problem most likely causes this situation", there may be a format or system issue that requires professional assistance.
The VA disability system needs a lot of work, and although it should be streamlined and simple to use, the reality is far from simple. It's a system with a lot of rules, fraud control, and legal language that is only easy for veterans with extremely obvious physical disability, and you may need a lawyer to handle the system instead of becoming an amateur lawyer on your own.
Even if you're a lawyer, the difficulty of handling a claim while affected by a disabling condition can be difficult. Contact a personal injury lawyer to have a skilled set of eyes on your evidence and focus more on maintaining your health as best as possible. With a lawyer's help, you can outsource a lot of resource and benefit from best practices for a faster claim approval. For more information, contact a business such as Walsh Fewkes Sterba.
Share