Disabled Veterans Law

If you have served our country in the Armed Forces and are disabled, you may be entitled to extensive medical and monetary benefits.

TWO TYPES OF BENEFITS

There are two different types of disability payments available to veterans, one is service connected compensation benefits and the other is non-service connected pension benefits. The law which establishes these benefits was intended to be veteran friendly and construed liberally in the favor of the veteran, unfortunately however the Department of Veterans Affairs does not always interpret the law as such and that is why you are best served with an attorney to advocate your claim and guide you through the process.

MAKING A CLAIM

Because the law governing these claims was designed by Congress to be veteran friendly there is no time limit on when a claim can be brought. Congress recognized that, sometimes, an event that occurred in service may take many years to cause a disability. In these cases, the veteran is entitled to bring a claim no matter how long it has been since he got out of the service. Because of this, in some cases, an award of benefits may have an effective date that goes back for years or even decades. When this happens, the V A is required to pay all of the past benefits that the veteran would have received. This can be a very substantial amount of money and make a great impact on the life of the veteran. Prior to 2006, veterans were not allowed to hire attorneys to represent them at the Regional Office and the Board of Veteran's Appeals. This law was changed in 2006 with the recognition by Congress that veterans should have the right to hire legal representation at all critical stages of these claims. In veteran's disability claims, legal representation helps clarify the issues and helps ensure that the claim is properly supported by evidence necessary for the veteran to have the best chance for success.

So if you served in the military and you have any questions as to whether you may be entitled to these benefits, please do not hesitate to contact us and schedule your free consultation today.