Access to disability benefits can be critical for veterans struggling with permanent injuries and illnesses. However, obtaining fair compensation can prove challenging with a complex and lengthy bureaucratic process.
Having fair disability benefits can allow veterans to focus on medical treatment and avoid working in ways that worsen their conditions. This can significantly improve their quality of life.
Increased Access to Legal Services
A veteran disability lawyer can help you with every step of the claims process, from filling out forms to appealing a decision. Consider it a wise decision to hire this PTSD lawyer for your legal needs. They are experienced with the VA’s bureaucratic processes and can help you cut through the red tape to get the benefits you deserve.
VA lawyers review your medical records and service history to build a strong case on your behalf. They work closely with medical experts to ensure that your disabling conditions are included in evaluating your claim for disability compensation. They can also provide expert testimony that will support your claim for TDIU.
Many advertise as VA disability attorneys but do not have the expertise to handle complex cases. Attorneys are held accountable to you as their client through attorney-client privilege and must abide by strict rules of professional conduct to maintain their license. A new report from the Veterans Task Force recommends 13 ways that legal aid providers can expand access to civil legal services for veterans. These include working with TAP offices at military installations to screen separating veterans for potential civil legal problems and connect them with an attorney.
Increased Representation
Many veterans with service-connected injuries or illnesses experience a lot of stress, especially when the VA denies their claims or issues them with a low disability rating. When they choose to appeal this decision, they must navigate a lengthy bureaucratic process. VA-accredited attorneys are the only representatives who can represent veterans in front of the VA. Non-attorney agents can advise veterans and may even assist with filing a claim, but they cannot take the veteran to federal court for help.
This is why veterans often hire VA-accredited attorneys to fight against the square wheels of the government’s bureaucracy. Although attorneys are not allowed to charge for their services upfront, they typically work on a contingency basis. Their fees are based on the percentage of back-due benefits they successfully recover for veterans. These fees range from 20% to 33% of the past-due benefits. These rates are often reasonable compared to contingency fees charged by medical malpractice and car accident lawyers.
Increased Reputation
Veterans Guardian has earned a reputation for getting the most out of the VA system for its clients. It takes a lot of work to do this, and attorneys must charge fees to pay secretaries, paralegals, rent, and other expenses.
The attorneys’ dogged representation and litigation resulted in meaningful changes to case law. They have argued cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, winning significant monetary awards for veterans wrongfully denied disability benefits.
The most important thing a VA-accredited attorney does is look out for you. For example, the VA requires that you have evidence proving a relationship between your disabling condition and military service; for example, to receive a 100% rating for PTSD, you must verify that your PTSD caused or worsened a secondary service-connected illness such as chronic back pain or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTS). They can assist with finding relevant medical records, building your claim through active record retrieval and evidence collection, preparing medical nexus letters, and more.
Increased Access to Justice
The VA claims and appeals process can be incredibly frustrating, with the VA making mistakes and overlooking evidence. It can take over a year from submission of your claim to the decision of a higher-level reviewer.
Many Veterans who have traumatic brain injuries (TBI) from explosions, physical assaults, training accidents, and vehicle collisions are not getting the 100-percent disability ratings they deserve. They should be entitled to TDIU, which will pay them while they recover from their injury.
Researchers are working to understand trends and characteristics of Veterans who collide with the criminal justice system. Their findings show that it is crucial to improve linkage to health care, particularly mental health and substance use treatment, for justice-involved Veterans so they can get the help they need before they are incarcerated in jail or prison and avoid homelessness and other adverse outcomes. Efforts such as Veterans Treatment Courts and the VA’s new Veterans Justice Outreach program are critical for these efforts to succeed.