To Schedule an Appointment, Call Us Toll Free at 1.877.873.8208 or Email Us for a Prompt Response.
Signing up to become a member of the Armed Services is a tremendous responsibility. Many Veterans end up risking a lot for their country, and they may experience substantial disabilities from their service that can interfere with their ability to work in the future. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has a disability benefits program that is designed to supplement the income of those Veterans who are too disabled to work.
Veterans disability benefits can even help those who retain some ability to work but may not be able to hold a full-time job or fully support themselves. A Logan, WV Veterans disability lawyer could help you understand the extent of your disability and what type of benefits you may be able to receive. In addition to helping you understand your benefits, Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law—the nation’s largest VA benefits law firm—could help you through the application process and any appeals.
To determine the amount of disability benefit payments, the VA will give each applicant a disability rating, which determines eligibility. Generally, applicants need a minimum 40% disability rating on a single condition to be eligible. However, they can add together disability ratings to determine the total disability. A person’s total disability rating can not be more than 100 percent, so determining the disability rating is more than just adding together ratings for different conditions. We provide a VA disability calculator to give you some idea of what you might receive.
In addition to the disability, the VA also considers other factors when determining benefit amounts, including any dependents they might have. The rating comes with a certain amount of monthly benefits, but these benefits do get cost of living (COLA) adjustments every year, to account for inflation, so they are subject to change. A Veterans disability attorney can advise a Logan-based Veteran on updated benefit amounts.
Not every condition qualifies for VA benefits. The first thing a person has to do is demonstrate that they have a qualifying disability, which can include both physical and mental conditions that came out of (or was made worse by) his or her service. Just a few examples of conditions that qualify include:
Proving that the injury is service-connected is the next hurdle. The conditions of service had to cause an injury—or exacerbate an existing injury. The cause can be an acute incident or chronic long-term exposure. The disability does not have to appear while the Veteran is still in service, as long as the Veteran can demonstrate that it is service-related. A Logan attorney can use experts to help establish that a Veteran’s disability is service-related and did not develop through other means.
Even when a Veteran has a qualifying condition and can prove it is service-related, the VA may still deny the claim. In fact, the VA denies over 60 percent of VA benefit applications. However, they later reverse a number of these denials after an appeal. An applicant should not give up hope just because he or she got an initial denial.
There are three ways to approach the appeals process. A Higher-Level Review is excellent for correcting errors in the initial review since it involves a senior reviewer reevaluating the claim. A Supplemental Claim allows the Veteran to submit new evidence not include in the first application. In addition, going before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals allows Veterans to request review, add new evidence, or seek a hearing. A Logan disability lawyer can help Veterans select the correct appeals process.
Facing a significant disability can be painful, demoralizing, and financially stressful. The agreement to put it all on the line for your country is supposed to come with the promise that your country will take care of you when you get injured. A Logan Veterans disability lawyer will work hard to make the VA honor that promise. Schedule a free consultation with the Jan Dils team to learn more.
To Schedule an Appointment, Call Us Toll Free at 1.877.873.8208 or Email Us for a Prompt Response.
Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law
