Types of Veterans Affairs Disability Claims

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We Help Veterans Get the Full Benefits They Deserve

Getting veterans’ disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is often a complex, confusing, and frustrating task. It’s a difficult process for anybody. Many deserving Veterans receive less than they are entitled to because they cannot navigate through the VA bureaucracy.

Berry Law dedicates a large portion of its legal practice to helping military Veterans and their families appeal VA disability claim decisions. We help Veterans all over the country appeal flawed decisions by VA Regional Offices, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

We go far beyond rounding up records and filing forms. We work with Veterans and those around them — their family, doctors, therapists, caretakers, etc. — to develop strategies for countering faulty VA decisions on appeal.

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We Are Veterans Serving Veterans

The lawyers at Berry Law are Veterans, military family members, and other patriots who help Veterans pursue VA disability benefits.

Our veterans’ law practice began when John S. Berry, Sr. began to represent fellow Vietnam Veterans who suffered from service-connected PTSD. Since then, he and our other attorneys, many of whom are also military Veterans, have helped thousands of Veterans appeal denied VA benefits claims and recover millions of dollars in VA disability compensation they deserved.

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John S. Berry, Sr.; John S. Berry, Jr.; and other members of our firm have served in multiple branches of the military in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. We have experienced first-hand the sacrifices that Veterans make on deployments and at home. We also know how Veterans’ selflessness affects their lives forever afterward.

We have experience successfully guiding Veterans’ cases through the VA appeals process. Our work litigating issues in VA claims at the federal appellate court level has resulted in case law that has changed VA rules to help not only our clients but all Veterans int he future.

We know the way forward.

Faulty VA Claim and Appeal Decisions Are Common

The VA is a vast government bureaucracy with volumes of rules and regulations. Add a backlog of Veterans’ disability claims to this, and it’s no wonder VA claims evaluators make bad decisions from time to time.

Complicated and overlapping rules and regulations affect what kinds of evidence are necessary for various types of claims, whether a disability is service-connected, and what percentage of disability is assigned once a disability is determined to be service-connected or among the presumptive conditions. Some disabilities, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) have additional rules and regulations on top of everything else.

In the end, whether a Veteran is given VA disability compensation comes down to somebody’s judgment call. The VA can and does get it wrong. This is why there is an appeals process. This is also why any Veteran has the absolute right to appeal a VA disability benefits decision that does not meet their needs.

Common reasons a Veteran might appeal a VA decision include:

  • Gain service connection for a disability that the VA wrongly decided isn’t related to military service
  • Increase the VA disability rating applied to a service-connected condition
  • Obtain Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) status if a 100% disability rating is not available

The VA provides a multilevel appeals process with many paths forward. A disabled Veteran may choose from many options to appeal or seek a review of a denied claim. There are three lanes to choose from within the VA:

  • Higher-Level Review
  • Supplemental Claim
  • Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA)

Click here to learn more about your options to appeal a VA decision.

In addition, Veterans dissatisfied with a decision of the BVA can appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).

Click here to learn more about appealing a BVA decision to the CAVC.

From a CAVC decision, Veterans can seek reconsideration and then, if still dissatisfied, appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After the Federal Circuit Court, the only additional option is to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case—but the Supreme Court has no obligation to take the case. The Supreme Court receives about 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year but accepts only about 80 of those (about 1 percent). Very few of those accepted cases are about VA disability claims.

Most Veterans initially file a claim for VA disability compensation on their own or with the assistance of a Veterans’ support organization. Some are also able to follow VA forms and instructions to file an appeal with their VA Regional Office and the BVA or to request a review of their VA rates.

However, the VA appeals process—especially under the new modernized system put into place in February 2019—can be complicated and confusing. And a review of an appeal by the CAVC or the Federal Circuit is a formal court proceeding.

Berry Law attorneys have handled hundreds of appeals at the CAVC and tens of thousands of cases at VA Regional Offices and the BVA.

Over several decades of working with disabled Veterans, and as VA disability laws have evolved, Berry Law has secured thousands of wins and over $180 million in backpay plus additional monthly benefits for our clients.

It’s unfortunate, but the VA can make mistakes on what looks like the most obviously valid claim. An incorrectly denied claim, or a disability rating that is too low, means a substantial loss for the affected Veteran and their family. Let us use our experience to guide you through the appeals process and give you the best chance of success.

Types of VA Disability Claims

Our experience shows that the types of claims that Veterans most often successfully appeal involve:

 

Mental health issues, including but not limited to:

Gulf War Syndrome (Gulf War-related “chronic multi-symptom illness” or “undiagnosed illnesses”)

Agent Orange-related disabilities, including but not limited to:

Orthopedic injuries, including but not limited to:

Why Hire Berry Law to
Pursue Your VA Benefits Claim Appeal?

Our objective is to obtain the highest service-connected disability rating available for you or Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) status (equivalent to 100 percent disability).

The VA disability benefits program is supposed to be designed so that all Veterans in need can access it. However, the reality is that the voluminous rules and regulations necessary to govern such a large program serve to make the claim and claim appeals process convoluted and frustrating for those who need it most.

We prepare appeals at all levels in the VA disability claims process, whether at any of the nationwide VA Regional Offices, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, or before federal courts, including the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) or the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Our experienced attorneys are skilled at creating a solid basis for appealing a VA decision by thoroughly reviewing existing disability claim files and discussing the Veteran’s needs and condition with them and their family members, friends, caretakers, and medical providers. We are also skilled in legal argument and deeply familiar with the complexities of the caselaw, statutes, and regulations affecting VA disability claims.

The VA disability benefits program is supposed to be designed so that all veterans in need can access it.

The VA has accredited Berry Law attorneys to represent Veterans seeking VA benefits, and many of our attorneys are admitted to represent Veterans appealing VA decisions to federal courts. We have obtained millions of dollars in disability compensation for thousands of U.S. military Veterans. We can help you seek the best possible outcome from your VA disability claim.

Let us review your existing VA disability claim at no charge to you. If we pursue an appeal on your behalf, we will not charge you a fee until we recover compensation for you.

Get Help from Our VA Disability Claim Appeals Lawyers Today. Our office is located at 6940 O St, Suite 400, Lincoln, NE 68510.

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