The VA claims process can be very complicated. Some Veterans can submit a claim and the claim will be granted right away. That Veteran might have a friend who submits a similar claim and his/her claim is denied, even though they both served together on the same deployment. How does…
If you did something in the military that resulted in an injury, you are typically entitled to disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). However, the VA may decide that you are not entitled to service connection benefits if the injury is a result of your “willful misconduct.”…
Veterans who are unhappy with their VA rating decision have the ability to appeal. Typically, after an appeal, a Veteran’s claim is either granted or denied. However, when a Veteran appeals their claim to the BVA (Board of Veterans Appeals), there is the high possibility that it will be remanded…
During his daily press briefing on 4/2/2020, President Trump announced that he had directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer relief to Veterans during the coronavirus pandemic in two significant ways. The first step will be to halt collection of debts owed to the VA during the crisis. The…
The VA issues different forms to grant or deny disability claims, and each form has its own appeal window. For a rating decision, a Veteran has within one year to appeal the denial. For a statement of the case (SOC), a Veteran has 60 days to appeal that decision to…
Currently three types of temporary 100% disability ratings are available for veterans: hospitalization, convalescent, and pre-stabilization, according to the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). Depending on your situation, you may be entitled to receive a temporary 100% disability rating. Hospitalization Ratings You may be eligible to receive a…
Effective February 19, 2019, the VA instituted a new claims process under the Appeals Modernization Act. The new process, which we will refer to as the AMA Process for clarity, provides multiple lanes for an appeal. These lanes differ depending on a variety of factors, such as whether the Veteran…
If you suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in service, the VA may grant you compensation entitlement based on cognitive, emotional/behavioral, and physical loss of functioning. For its most basic ratings criteria, the VA will evaluate your memory; judgment; social interaction; orientation; motor activity; visual spatial orientation; subjective symptoms; neurobehavioral…
In addition to VA disability compensation, several other forms of increased compensation may be available to you or your spouse. One specific type of increased compensation is known as “Aid & Attendance” and may be paid as an increase to a veteran’s disability compensation or as an increase to a…
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is commonly seen in Gulf War Veterans, but it is certainly not limited to this group. Unfortunately, it is one of the more difficult disabilities to diagnosis and prove, making it even more difficult for Veterans to receive disability compensation from the VA. Often, we hear…
