The following outline of the types of benefits offered by VA and of the general claims process is not intended to provide legal advice but to help you determine whether you have a claim at the stage where our firm could possibly help you.
There are a number of VA benefits (see below), but to obtain any of them you follow the same process, first filing a written claim with a VA regional office. VA will assemble evidence from various sources and then either grant or deny benefits. If the claim is denied in whole or part, the decision is challenged by means of a Notice of Disagreement and then an appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. If the Board denies, then appeal is available to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
In order for our attorneys to represent without charge any veteran or family member in a claim for VA benefits, there must be one of the following: For claims currently before the VA regional office or Board of Veterans Appeals a Notice of Disagreement filed after June 20, 2007. For claims denied by the Board of Veterans appeal (1) a pending appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or (2) a final decision of the Board where 120 days have not passed since that decision was rendered. If your claim is at any of these stages, we will gladly review your paperwork to see if we can help.
The VA provides veterans, their spouses and dependents a variety of benefits. Commonly, veterans and their families apply for the following benefits:
The most common type of claim is for service-connected disability compensation. In order to establish entitlement to these benefits, three things must be established through evidence: (1) the veteran has a demonstrable disability; (2) the veteran first showed symptoms of a disease or suffered an injury, or an aggravation of a pre-existing disease or injury, while in service or within a short period afterward; and (3) there is a causal relationship between the current disability and service. If VA is satisfied that all three of these elements are shown by the evidence, then a veteran is “service connected” for the disability, i.e. eligible for compensation, the amount of which is based on how severely you are impaired by the disability. To determine this amount, VA will use the Schedule for Rating Disabilities in the regulations (38 C.F.R. Part 4). This schedule is based on the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from the disability, and the condition is rated between 0% (noncompensable) and 100% (totally disabling), in 10% increments. The effective date, that is, the date from which payments begin, will generally be either the date of VA’s receipt of the claim or the date on which the evidence shows entitlement to the benefits, whichever is later. Though the proof requirements vary, claims for other VA benefits follow this same process.
When you submit a claim, VA is required to provide you with notice that explains the types of information required to qualify for benefits and to provide certain sorts of assistance in developing the evidence. The ultimate responsibility for developing your claim however, is yours.
VA must issue a written decision granting or denying benefits. You then have one year from the date stamped on the cover letter transmitting the decision to file a "Notice of Disagreement," which is simply a statement that you disagree with the decision or any part of it (e.g., the rating percentage) and want to appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. If a Notice of Disagreement is not filed within that one year, the decision becomes final and, except in a very few unusual cases, cannot be revived and altered.
Once a Notice of Disagreement is filed, VA will either attempt to resolve the dispute or will issue a Statement of the Case. You have the remainder of the year from the date on the letter with the Rating Decision or 60-days after the date the Statement of the Case is sent, whichever is longer, to submit a Substantive Appeal (Form 9) to the regional office, which sends your case to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The Board will render a decision upon review of the entire file, including any new evidence submitted. The Board may grant or deny benefits, or send the claim back for further development by the agency.
If the Board denies all or part of the claim, you may file a further appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims no later than 120 days after the date the decision is mailed to you. Note that the appeal to the Court must be based on legal or procedural errors, not on the ultimate question of whether you should get benefits. When the Court sees such errors, it sends the case back to the VA to be redone.
We can represent you if you have a recent Board decision or have already filed your appeal to the Court, and we can represent you at the agency after such an appeal or if you have filed a timely Notice of Disagreement after June 20, 2007.