Appeal The VA With Legal Power And Medical Support

A decision letter from the Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation system can be a nervous thing to open. Many veterans are warned about the fickle nature of the disability system and may be expecting a bit of disappointment if their claim isn't perfect, but how do you reach claim perfection when a denial arrives in the mail? You can appeal as much as you want, but wasting too much time with unprepared attempts means that your money takes longer to arrive and your disability goes untreated for longer. Take a look at a few ways to strengthen your appeal and get a bit of medical support while you wait for success.

VA Disability Filters The Scammers And Misguided

Fakers exist, and they threaten to take a lot of resources from the VA. There are also a few veterans with legitimate problems that aren't quite what the VA disability system was designed for.

VA disability is reserved for veterans with service-connected disabilities. This means that your problem must have some sort of connection to your military service, whether that means you were injured while in the military or gained some kind of condition because of military service. The easiest claim victories come from injuries that can be obviously observed with the eye or documented thoroughly during military service, but there are many conditions that may not show up until you're already separated from the military.

You won't get disability from being injured by your civilian job, or any issue that happens after you leave the military. The VA can help you with some basic medical care if you qualify for benefits (if you have anything other than a dishonorable discharge, you likely qualify), but the disability compensation with advanced medical support is not for civilian incidents. 

Most claims that seem fraudulent or incorrectly placed will be denied without incident. Fraudsters may not face punishment unless they actually receive benefits and are later caught, while people with confirmed, but not service-connected conditions will be directed to services that are a better fit.

Why Would A Good Claim Be Denied?

There are times when a valid claim just doesn't have enough evidence. If you have a certain condition, but don't have medical documentation showing when it happened, it's too easy to dismiss the issue as a civilian issue. In a slightly better scenario, the VA will agree that it's likely that your issue could be related to the military, but will still ask you to develop enough evidence to support your claim.

Mental conditions and pain problems that can't be observed will need more evidence as well. Even if you have past evidence showing that you suffered through a certain situation, if there's no current evidence showing your continued suffering or disability, you may be denied.

If you lack past evidence or current medical proof, get in contact with a personal injury lawyer, like Smith & O'Hare PS Inc, as soon as possible. With a lawyer's assistance, relevant information can be researched and assembled in ways that you may not think of on your own. Service record entries, statements from other veterans you may not know directly or even newspaper clippings showing your military unit or crew could bring legitimacy to your case.

With a lawyer's help, you could see a more robust set of medical evidence from medical, dental and psychiatric professionals who know how to organize evidence in ways that fit with claim systems. Contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your appeal.