Common Objections by the Veterans Affairs Office | New York Disability
Gideon J. Miller
Problems With Disability Compensation Claims
My name is Gideon Miller, and we’re going to talk about what problems you may face during your VA claim for disability compensation. Evidence of service connection may be extremely hard to come by, and even when presented with what you think is strong evidence, the VA often makes decisions that cause you to shake your head in disbelief. Even if service connection is accepted, you can appeal either the rating percentage, the effective date of the disability, or both.
The VA will only approve attorney fees for work done after there has been an initial decision, so unlike Social Security, it is very unusual for an attorney to be involved in the initial application. This can lead to incomplete claims, as can the fact that the VA may approve one part of the case and deny another or perhaps give a different effective date for a third part.
Additionally an acceptable rating may be issued by the VA as yet another example of how the VA may be involved in your case, so you can have claims pending at many different levels concerning many different issues at the same time.
Added to the complexity of claims and the law involved is the delay. It can often take years for an appeal to be heard, and frustration is inevitable. You should seek experienced counsel as soon as an initial determination has been made, due to time limits and the frequent difficulty in obtaining evidence and records. A huge fire at a veterans’ record center in 1973 destroyed the records of over 16 million veterans, many of whom are still entitled to benefits today.
By: Gideon J. Miller
Problems With Disability Compensation Claims
My name is Gideon Miller, and we’re going to talk about what problems you may face during your VA claim for disability compensation. Evidence of service connection may be extremely hard to come by, and even when presented with what you think is strong evidence, the VA often makes decisions that cause you to shake your head in disbelief. Even if service connection is accepted, you can appeal either the rating percentage, the effective date of the disability, or both.
The VA will only approve attorney fees for work done after there has been an initial decision, so unlike Social Security, it is very unusual for an attorney to be involved in the initial application. This can lead to incomplete claims, as can the fact that the VA may approve one part of the case and deny another or perhaps give a different effective date for a third part.
Additionally an acceptable rating may be issued by the VA as yet another example of how the VA may be involved in your case, so you can have claims pending at many different levels concerning many different issues at the same time.
Added to the complexity of claims and the law involved is the delay. It can often take years for an appeal to be heard, and frustration is inevitable. You should seek experienced counsel as soon as an initial determination has been made, due to time limits and the frequent difficulty in obtaining evidence and records. A huge fire at a veterans’ record center in 1973 destroyed the records of over 16 million veterans, many of whom are still entitled to benefits today.
By: Gideon J. Miller
