If you are among the 22,276 Indianapolis veterans who do not carry a service-connected disability rating, and you have reason to believe the VA wrongly turned down a claim it should have granted, Hill & Ponton can help you challenge that decision.
Or you may be among the 11,239 city veterans the Census records show as already holding a rating, only the percentage the VA assigned falls far below how much your condition actually limits you.
This is where Hill & Ponton comes in. Our firm is made up of VA-accredited disability attorneys who exclusively do appeals for veterans the system has turned away or underpaid. We can handle the entire appeal process and you will not see a bill from us until we succeed.
Our Legal Services for Indianapolis Veterans
- Disability Compensation: We chase down the full monthly compensation your service-connected condition warrants, plus the retroactive back pay that should have reached you beginning the day the claim first became valid.
- VA Disability Appeals: When the VA turns you down, or grants a rating well below the mark, we run the appeal start to finish, reading every page of the file, tracking down evidence that went missing, lining up medical opinions no one ever ordered, and reshaping it into the case that should have been presented from the outset.
- Rating Increases: A service-connected condition rarely holds steady. As yours worsens past what the VA noted at your last exam, we build the record that supports a step up in rating, and the bigger check that comes with it.
- Special Monthly Compensation: Certain catastrophic injuries go beyond what the VA rating table accounts for. In those cases Special Monthly Compensation can pay above the standard schedule.
- Individual Unemployability: When service-connected conditions make holding down regular work impossible, the VA may pay you at the 100 percent level even though your combined rating sits lower. We compile the employment record and medical proof a TDIU claim rests on.
- DIC and Survivor Benefits: Should a service-related illness take a veteran’s life, those left behind, a spouse, a child, sometimes a dependent parent, could be in line for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. We walk those families through the process with patience and respect.
What Your VA Rating Pays Each Month
Each service-connected condition carries a rating set in ten-point increments between 10 and 100 percent, and that percentage determines how large your tax-free monthly check is. Push the rating up and the payment grows along with it.
Carrying more than one service-connected condition does not mean the VA stacks the percentages on top of each other. It applies a separate combined-ratings calculation, and that math is one more reason an accurate, well-documented claim matters so much.
Curious where your particular set of ratings would land? The VA disability calculator can give you a quick estimate.
These are the monthly figures a single veteran with no dependents receives right now:
- 10%: $180.42
- 20%: $356.66
- 30%: $552.47
- 40%: $795.84
- 50%: $1,132.90
- 60%: $1,435.02
- 70%: $1,808.45
- 80%: $2,102.15
- 90%: $2,362.30
- 100%: $3,938.58
Those amounts climb once you add a spouse, children, or a dependent parent, and the VA raises them annually to track inflation.
Federal compensation is not the whole picture, either. Indianapolis veterans are also eligible for Indiana state benefits such as property tax deductions that ease the strain on a household’s finances.
Work with us to get your Benefits
Standing Up for Toxic Exposure Claims
Generations of military and industrial activity around central Indiana have left a handful of contaminated sites in their wake. A veteran who spent time at one of these bases, in Indiana or anywhere else, and was later diagnosed with a serious illness may have a valid claim.
- Grissom Air Reserve Base (roughly 65 miles north of Indianapolis and 75 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, near Peru): Firefighting foam used at Grissom over the years pushed the “forever chemicals” PFOS and PFOA into the groundwater, and on-base testing has registered concentrations above the EPA health advisory. If you served at Grissom and later developed a related illness, this is an exposure worth a hard look.
- Former Fort Benjamin Harrison (Lawrence, on the northeast side of Indianapolis): Across decades of operation, this Army post handled fuels, solvents, and other materials that tainted the soil and groundwater, and the property has since moved through the military’s base-closure cleanup program. A veteran stationed at Fort Harrison who later grew ill may have an exposure claim worth examining.
- Shelbyville Army Aviation Support Facility (about 35 miles southeast of Indianapolis): Use of firefighting foam at this site pushed PFAS into groundwater. Veterans who worked at or near this facility and later developed an illness may be eligible for compensation for health conditions related to toxic exposure.
If your time in uniform brought you through any of these sites, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane southwest of the city among them, where solvents, PCBs, and firefighting foam fouled parts of the installation, or any other base later linked to contamination, a past denial does not have to be the end of the road. Our attorneys have spent years matching veterans’ diagnoses to the exposures that caused them and securing the benefits those veterans had earned.
What It Takes to Win a Claim
Every VA claim has to clear the same three hurdles. Miss even one, and the decision usually comes back a denial.
- A present diagnosis. A medical professional, whether at the VA or in private practice, has to confirm in writing that the condition you are claiming is present today.
- A service connection. Your records must reflect something from your service, an injury, an illness, an incident, a toxic exposure, with the power to have sparked the condition or accelerated its decline.
- A medical nexus. A credentialed physician must join the two, declaring that service is “at least as likely as not” to blame. Claims most often break down right here, which is why convincing medical proof carries the day.
Our VA disability attorneys understand how raters read a file, the spots where claims commonly go wrong, and how to assemble one so the decision reflects what you genuinely live with.
Tell us about your case
Should You Bring a VA Lawyer Into Your Case?
Filing that first claim on your own is perfectly reasonable, and plenty of veterans do exactly that. The calculus shifts after a denial, or after the VA returns a rating that bears no relation to how hard your days really are. That is the point where seasoned counsel can swing things back your way.
We take on this work because the VA process can feel built to bewilder. When a case stalls behind evidence no one bothered to collect, or a verdict that defies logic, we comb the record, isolate the breakdown, and rebuild the claim. We have done it for veterans across the country, and we are glad to do it here in Indianapolis.
VA disability law never sits still, and we keep up with every shift, whether it comes from a new agency policy or a ruling out of the veterans courts. What we learn goes straight into chasing the increased ratings, unemployability awards, and special compensation you might be owed. If the rating came back wrong, or the VA refused you outright, we are prepared to step in.
Looking over your case will not cost you a thing and we collect a fee only if we win. If a VA ruling has shut you out, reach out and let us help you get back through the door.
VA Resources Around Indianapolis
- Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center – The flagship of VA Indiana health care, this hospital provides primary care, specialty services, surgery, and mental health treatment for veterans throughout central Indiana. 1481 West 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202. Phone: 317-554-0000
- Indianapolis Vet Center – A community-based site offering confidential readjustment and PTSD counseling, plus outreach that goes beyond ordinary medical visits. 6330 West 71st Street, Indianapolis, IN 46278. Phone: 317-423-1680
- Indianapolis VA Regional Benefit Office – The state’s VA benefits office, where accredited service organizations and the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs help veterans file and track claims for free. 575 North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. National benefits line: 800-827-1000
- Marion County Office of Veteran Services – The local office serving Indianapolis veterans and their families with claims, benefits, and referrals at no charge. City-County Building, 200 East Washington Street, Suite 2501, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Phone: 317-327-8387
- Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs – The state agency that administers veteran benefits and backs the county service officer network statewide. 777 North Meridian Street, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Phone: 317-232-3910
Help for Veterans Without Stable Housing
On the night of the 2025 Point-in-Time count, surveyors counted 125 veterans without stable housing across the Indianapolis area. For veterans who have already lost their housing, or fear they soon will, a combination of VA initiatives and local government programs coordinated through the VA Indiana Health Care aims at a permanent way off the street.
Time and again we have watched a frozen or wrongly rejected disability payment lie at the heart of a family’s housing emergency. For that reason, Hill & Ponton gives homeless and at-risk veterans our priority.
Did the VA reject your claim or hand you a rating that sits too low? We can help you challenge it. There is no upfront cost, and our fee applies only if your appeal succeeds. Contact us and we will assess your claim for free.
Meet Our Expert Legal Team
VA Disability Attorneys and professionals championing veterans in Indiana and nationwide.
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Need help appealing a VA decision? Contact our disability lawyers for a free evaluation of your claim.
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