Is A 100% Rating Permanent
No. The VA awards temporary total ratings for veterans whose conditions need additional support for a limited time, like for a 3-month convalescent period after surgery. All 100% ratings are not considered permanent unless it is medically unlikely for the condition to ever improve. In these cases, the VA will declare the condition Permanent and Total .
Reason Why Your Va Claim Was Denied Thinking The Va Will Help You:
The VA will not help you in the way you would like them too. The VA doctors will treat us for our conditions, but they will not help you with the claims process. That is not their job. It is up to you and the veterans service organizations to put together your claim.
Do not count on the VA doctors to fill out a DBQ or Nexus letter. You will more likely than not have to go to a civilian doctor to get these items and will have to pay for them.
Take the time to learn about the disability claims process and do not expect help from the VA.
You Do Not Want The Process To Take Any Longer Than Necessary
Finally, if you need to collect benefits for a service-connected condition, you do not want the process to take any longer than absolutely necessary. Mistakes can lead to appeals, and appeals can lengthen the duration of the process significantly. An experienced Long Island veterans disability lawyer will be able to help you avoid time-consuming mistakes and ensure that you start receiving benefits as soon as possible.
Also Check: How To Get A Disability Rating From The Va
How Does The Va Rate Arthritis
The VA rates arthritis differently, depending on whether the veteran has been diagnosed with the degenerative form of the disease that often results from overuse or traumatic injury and is the most common form of arthritis to affect veterans, or rheumatoid arthritis, which is an inflammatory condition that is the result of an autoimmune disorder. While autoimmune disorders are generally not service-related, the difference with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is that the cartilage breakdown associated with the rheumatoid form of this disease tends to happen suddenly within a year or two post-injury.
The VA considers rheumatoid arthritis to be a disabling condition. If you are diagnosed with this disease and are incapacitated as a result, you are generally provided with 100 percent disability, regardless of how many joints are affected. If you have experienced at least 2 episodes of incapacitation in a year, you will receive at least 20 percent disability. Three or more incapacitating episodes in a year will result in at least 40 percent disability, and four or more episodes or evidence of other symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, such as loss of appetite or anemia, will result in 60 percent disability.
- Functional loss of the joint
- Instability
% Of Denied Va Disability Claims Belong To Guard & Reserve Members
Of the 1.6 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, about 600,000 have applied for veterans disability benefits after returning home. Of those claims, 53,000 have not suffered a severe enough disability to receive benefits while about 15,640 have been denied compensation altogether. Shockingly, although National Guard and reserve members make up 40 percent of military forces, they make of 60 percent of denied veterans disability claims.
Put another way, Guard and reserve members are four times more likely to be denied VA disability benefits than active duty members of the military.
Being a disabled reservist may mean fighting for your VA disability rights
No one is sure why National Guard members and reservists have more difficulty securing veterans disability benefits. Some believe that it is because they are often older, and some believe it is because they serve for a shorter amount of time on average, and yet some believe that it is because claims processors are biased. But one thing is for sure: if you are a Guard or reserve member who suffered a service-connected disability, you deserve benefits just like anyone else does. If you believe that your VA disability compensation was wrongfully denied, it is imperative not to give up on your case or assume that you are the one who made a mistake.
Texas veterans disability attorney
Don’t Miss: Disability Awareness Activity
Va Denies Due To No Proof Of In
Lacking proof of an in-service injury, illness, or event relates to the second element of service connection. Here, VA is looking to see if something happened in service that may have contributed to the onset or aggravation of a current condition. For instance, you were injured in a training accident, exposed to loud noises, or witnessed a traumatic event. Any of these incidents may lead to a subsequent disability and thereby qualify as an in-service event.
You Can Reopen A Veterans Disability Claim If You Have New Important Evidence
If you were denied veterans benefits and you have exhausted your appeals , or you missed the appeal deadlines, you may not be out of luck, and you don’t necessarily have to start a new claim for benefits to try again.
While you always have the right to start your veterans benefits claim over again , it can be a pretty daunting process after you have already been wading through the VA bureaucracy for months or years. There is another option that may be open to you, and that is to request that the VA Regional Office “reopen” your original claim.
Recommended Reading: Partial Blindness Disability
File A Notice Of Disagreement
For those who received a denial prior to February 19, 2019, the only way that you can start an appeal of your claim is by filing a Notice of Disagreement form with your Regional Office . Without this NOD form you wont be able to start the appeals process.
The NOD states that you disagree with the decision you received regarding your claim for disability compensation. The NOD form is the only way to begin your appeal process when you disagree with VAs decision on your claim for disability compensation.
What Is The Va Disability Appeals Success Rate For Veterans
In fiscal year 2018, the Board of Veterans Appeals resolved a record number of claims to date. Specifically, the Board issued 85,288 decisions to veterans, which not only exceeded its goal, but also represented an increase of 33, 277 decisions from FY 2017. However, how many of these decisions are approvals and in favor of the veterans claims? In this blog post, we will discuss the VA disability appeals success rate for veterans in further detail.
You May Like: 100 Percent Disability For Ptsd
Choose A Type Of Review
The next step in the process is deciding whether or not you want to have a Decision Review Officer or a traditional review by marking the appropriate box on your NOD. Read the fine print of your denial letter, and take action immediately.
Current VARO procedures allow veterans 60 days to decide whether they want a Direct Review Officer assigned to their appeal or a traditional review of their appeal. After those 60 days, you lose all choice in the process.
So, which should you choose?
A traditional review of your appeal requires a rating staff member to analyze your claim file for completeness, accuracy, and any errors. They will review all of your evidence and paperwork. They are the ones reviewing your file, but they do not have the authority to change the decision unless the regional office staff made a clear and unmistakable error, or they identify new material evidence.
Who Can Receive Veteransdisability Benefits
Veterans disability benefits are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and consist of tax-free monthly payments to veterans who became disabled due to service-related injuries or illnesses.
Disability benefits are also available to veterans who suffer from a pre-existing condition that was made worse by their military service.
There are different types of veterans disability benefits, and eligibility varies based on the specific type of benefits sought.
However, to receive any VA disability benefits you must meet both of the following requirements:
- You must have served on activeduty, active duty training, or inactive duty training
- Your service-connected injury orillness must have received a disability rating from the VA
Along with meeting each of the aboverequirements, one of the following statements must also be true:
- You became sick or injured duringyour service and can link this condition to your military service
- You had a pre-service injury orillness that was made worse by your military service
- You were diagnosed with an injuryor illness after your service that was related to your active-duty service
The VAs disability benefits programs cover awide variety of physical and mental conditions. Qualification for benefits isbased on a number of factors, including the numerical disability rating assignedby the VA, your financial needs, and your time of service.
Read Also: Texas Disability Application
Three Criteria Required For Va Disability Approval
To win your VA disability compensation claim, you must demonstrate three things:
- a medical diagnosis,
- a connection to active duty military service , and
- medical evidence of recurring or persistent symptoms.
If you dont score on each of these criteria, you wont get approved for VA disability or compensation benefits.
The Va Doesnt Accept Your Doctors Statement
Your doctor can provide a statement that supports your disability claim. However, this statement may not adhere to the VAs requirements to prove sufficient evidence of your disability. The VAs decision can rely on a few factors, including your doctors ability to do the following:
- Thoroughly explain your disability, the symptoms it causes, and why it should be treated as a disability
- Fill out all required paperwork accurately and completely
- Explain why your service-related injury or illness and your current disability are connected
- Use language that the VA looks for in doctors statements
- Furnish proof of his or her credentials
Don’t Miss: What Is 60 Percent Va Disability
Reasons Why Your Va Claim Was Denied
Getting that horrible letter saying your va claim was denied after spending months or YEARS of working on your claim is FRUSTRATING!
We dont want a lack of knowledge or information to be the reason for any veteran to get their claim denied.
In this post, we asked a group of THOUSANDS of veterans what the TOP reason why their claim got denied was.
And we compiled them for you here.
IN ADDITION to our research and articles linking to how to PREVENT this from happening to you in the future!
Ready for this?!
What Should I Do Next
The 2017 Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act substantially changed the way veterans respond to claims denials. Now that this law is fully implemented, veterans have more choices in how to proceed.
Erroneous denials usually end up on the Higher Level Review track. Veterans cannot introduce new evidence in support of their claims. HLR is simply a second look. Generally, this process is much faster than the old appeals process. If the decision is unfavorable, veterans can still pursue other options.
Nexus denials and other lack of evidence denials often merit Supplemental Claims. Veterans may submit new evidence in support of their claims. The claim will then be readjudicated and a new decision will be issued.
Lastly, you have the option to take your case before a judge at the Board of Veterans Appeals.
A veteran disability attorney can advocate for you most effectively during these reviews.
Recommended Reading: 70 Percent Va Disability Rating
Breaking Down Current Disabilities For Va Compensation
A good example of a situation where a veteran would not have a current disability may involve a temporary illness. For example, you were previously diagnosed with cancer but have since gone into remission. Since the cancer is no longer active, VA would not consider it to be current for rating purposes.
You Missed The Deadline
You must gather the evidence you need for your VA disability claim as quickly as possible, as the VA could take years to approve your application.
While there is no deadline to apply for benefits, you are only eligible for monthly payments to deal with current disabilities, so waiting until an injury has fully recovered may make you ineligible for compensation. For example, if you developed a knee problem, then went through years of rehabilitation until you made a full recovery, you would not be able to file for compensation after the fact.
In addition, you need to be aware of the deadlines to appeal the VAs denial of a claim. From the time you are notified of a denial, a clock starts ticking for you to be able to appeal. If you do not appeal within the required period following an initial decision, you will need to refile your claim and start over.
Recommended Reading: Army Medical Retirement Calculator
Deserve A Higher Va Rating We Can Help
Join our premier education-based membership program, VA Claims Insider Elite, connect with an expert-level Veteran Coach within minutes, and finally get the rating you deserve. Click the button below to start for FREE.
According to the Mayo Clinic, some common triggers of IBS in disabled veterans include:
- #1 Food. The role of food allergy or intolerance in IBS isnt fully understood. A true food allergy rarely causes IBS. But many people have worse IBS symptoms when they eat or drink certain foods or beverages, including wheat, dairy products, citrus fruits, beans, cabbage, milk and carbonated drinks.
- #2 Stress. Most people with IBS experience worse or more frequent signs and symptoms during periods of increased stress. But while stress may aggravate symptoms, it doesnt cause them.
- #3 Hormones. Women are 2x as likely to have IBS than men, which might indicate that hormonal changes play a role. Many women find that signs and symptoms are worse during or around their menstrual periods.
- #4 Medication Side Effects. Many over the counter and prescription medications taken to help manage a variety of physical and mental disabilities in veterans may cause IBS symptoms or make them worse.
Medical research does suggest a link between IBS and veterans with a mental health condition.
Finally, many over the counter and prescription medications taken to help manage a variety of physical and mental disabilities in veterans may lead to IBS symptoms.
Requesting A Va Decision Review Or Appeal
The VA changed its appeal process as of February 19, 2019. Below, we discuss the new decision review process, which applies to VA decisions made on or after Feb. 19, 2019. If you are already in the middle of appealing a decision dated before Feb. 19, 2019, the legacy appeals process applies. We can assist you with it, as well.
The decision review process provides three options for appealing a denied VA benefits claim. If the results of your first appeal are not satisfactory, you have additional appeal options.
Don’t Miss: Can You Work With 100 Military Disability
Was Your Va Disability Claim For Hypertension Denied
Unfortunately, VA disability claim denials are common. Your claim may have been denied because:
- You sent in the wrong form. The VA has a staggering number of forms on their website and continues to add new forms and new versions of forms all the time. Its not difficult to accidentally fill out the wrong form or an older version of the form, which often results in VA rejecting the claim or the appeal, sometimes without even notifying you of the rejection.
- You missed an important deadline. Maybe the VA requested more information, but you didnt send it in time. We understand that life happens. When you hire our firm, our attorneys keep track of all of the paperwork deadlines. All you need to do is attend any medical appointments.
- You didnt prove that your hypertension is service-connected. The decision-makers at the VA dont know you or what youve been through. All they have in front of them is a stack of paperwork. Our lawyers help veterans with their disability claims all across the country. We know what information the VA needs in order to establish service-related connections.
The good news is, a denial isnt the final word. Veterans have the right to appeal their VA disability claims for hypertension.
We can help you with your disability for hypertension appeal, even if we didnt work on your initial claim. Our lawyers know what a strong disability benefits application looks like. Well do the hard work of making sure your application is complete and well-documented.
Keep In Mind Some Of The Rules The Va Has For Reducing A Rating:
The 5-year rule: If the rating has been in effect for five years. It can be lowered If your condition has improved on a continual basis. Otherwise, it cannot. The VA must have documented proof the condition has improved.
10-year rule: A service-connected disability rating cannot be reduced if it has been in effect for ten years. Ratings can be reduced if evidence shows the condition has improved. If the VA can prove fraud, it will eliminate the rating.
20-year rule: If the rating has been in effect for 20 years, it cannot be reduced below the lowest percentage it has held for the previous 20 years. The only is if the VA can prove fraud, will it be reduced.
100% rule: The VA has to prove your medical condition has improved, and as a result, you can perform substantial work.
Do not let fear stop you from filing a claim. You can find these rules in CFR 38 Part 3.
Recommended Reading: How To Increase Your Va Disability Rating
If I Have A Presumptive Condition Should I Still Get The Assistance Of A Service Officer To Apply For Disability
Yes. Having a presumptive will make the application easier, but we still recommend veterans retain an accredited service officer to assist them.
- American Legion Veteran Service Officer 296-5166
- Disabled American Veterans Veteran Service Officer 296-5167
- Veterans of Foreign Wars Veteran Service Officer 296-5168
- Vietnam Veterans of America 283-3164
- State of Vermont Veteran Service Officer Program 666-9844