Due to the VA’s method of combining, rather than adding together, a veteran’s disability ratings, it is sometimes difficult for a veteran with multiple, service-connected disabilities to reach a 100% rating. The higher the combined rating is, the higher a new rating needs to be in order to add much of anything to the […]
If there is one topic that I am asked about on an almost daily basis, it is whether there is anything I can do to make the VA speed up the appeals process. And, if I am being completely honest, I have to respond that, while there are a few exceptions, there is not much […]
When I am reviewing a veteran’s file to determine if I can help, a VA notation that a claim has been denied because the veteran had a pre-existing disease or disability prior to service is a red flag to me that the VA has probably made an error in evaluating the case. More often than […]
The VA benefits system was designed to be a non-adversarial, veteran-friendly system. The idea is that the VA exists to provide benefits to veterans who have earned those benefits through their service to this country. In an ideal world, veterans would apply for and be granted benefits without a need for representation because the employees […]
There are a number of reasons that veterans struggle to get the benefits to which they are entitled. Some of these reasons are benign, while others appear to be due to a combination of VA incompetence, indifference, or the failures of an overburdened system. Sometimes, however, the problem is that VA does not always do […]
Many veterans find that it is incredibly difficult to qualify for a 100% rating based on the VA’s rating schedule. For some disabilities like migraines, the highest possible rating does not even reach 100%, and, for others, the symptoms the veteran must exhibit to qualify for a total rating are subjective and/or unreasonably high. If […]
Lately, we’ve spent a lot of time discussing where the line between blue and brown water in Vietnam is…and where it should be. The reason for this is that the VA acknowledges that brown water veterans were exposed to herbicides along with the “boots on the ground” veterans. That presumption of exposure ensures that if […]
Veterans who were exposed to herbicides during the Vietnam War era are entitled to service connection for a large number of diseases/disabilities, including ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, Parkinson’s disease, and many types of cancer. To qualify for service connection for the diseases on the herbicide exposure list, a veteran need not prove that herbicides […]
When the VA regional office finally makes a decision in a case, it issues a rating decision to the veteran in which the VA attempts to explain the reasoning behind the decision. If the rating decision is incorrect in any way, the veteran has a right to appeal the decision within one year of the […]
As a general rule, when the VA awards service-connected disability benefits, the effective date for the award is the date of the latest claim the veteran has filed. There are, however, a very few exceptions to this general rule which allow the VA to assign an earlier effective date if an earlier claim was denied. […]
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