Some injuries from service heal. Others stay with you, in a knee that won’t hold up on the stairs, hearing that keeps slipping, or nights that never feel restful. And yet the VA denies or underrates such problems all the time.
Has the VA told you no, or rated you far below what your condition costs you? That decision can be challenged, and your claim can go back in front of the VA. Our VA-accredited lawyers have made it their life’s mission to help disabled veterans like you.
Hill & Ponton has represented veterans and their families since 1986, and our VA-accredited attorneys focus solely on disability law. Our win rate on the cases we take is 96%, and attorney fees are owed only if we are successful in getting you the benefits you deserve.
Our Legal Services for Omaha Veterans
- Disability Compensation: We check that every condition connected to your service is rated, that each percentage matches the medical record, and that your back pay begins on the date the evidence supports.
- VA Disability Appeals: We take the decision letter apart reason by reason, find the evidence that answers each one, and move the case forward in the right appeal lane.
- Rating Increases: Conditions can progress after the VA rates them. We document what your symptoms look like now and request the higher rating the criteria support.
- Special Monthly Compensation: If your disabilities include loss of use of a limb, loss of sight, or a need for aid and attendance, we look for the Special Monthly Compensation the VA should have awarded and appeal if the VA left it out.
- Individual Unemployability: Service-connected conditions that stop you from holding a steady job can support TDIU at the 100% rate, backed by medical and employment evidence of how your disabilities limit work.
- DIC and Survivor Benefits: A veteran’s surviving spouse, children, or parents can claim DIC and surviving spouse benefits when the death was connected to service.
What a VA Rating Pays Each Month
Your combined VA rating, somewhere from 0% to 100%, determines the tax-free payment the VA sends you monthly.
Ratings are combined with the VA’s table rather than added, so the result is lower than the sum of the parts. Our VA disability calculator does the combining for you.
A veteran without dependents currently receives:
- 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
The amount goes up at qualifying ratings for a spouse, children, or dependent parents, and all rates adjust each year for inflation.
Omaha veterans can also receive Nebraska’s state benefits for disabled veterans, such as the homestead property tax exemption, tuition waivers for dependents, no-fee disabled veteran license plates, and more.
Work with us to get your benefits
Toxic Exposure Claims
Exposure-related illness can surface decades after you leave a base, which makes these claims harder to win the first time. An earlier denial isn’t final; our lawyers can appeal the decision and push for the benefits you deserve. The military bases with documented contamination in the Omaha area include:
- Offutt Air Force Base (Bellevue): State and base officials carried out a screening-level site inspection at several places on Offutt where firefighting foam was historically used or stored. According to EPA, PFAS exposure is associated with an increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.
- Former Nebraska Ordnance Plant (Mead): Munitions were produced here from 1942 to 1956, and the site has been on the National Priorities List since 1990. EPA reports treatment plants removing TCE and RDX from its groundwater.
- Camp Ashland: A Nebraska National Guard training site investigated for PFAS.
- Nebraska Air National Guard Base (Lincoln): The Air National Guard has sampled soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment near the base, and the state environment agency reports PFAS detections from the military sampling it is evaluating.
The Three Things Every VA Claim Must Show
Your file needs all three of these elements before the VA grants service connection:
- Current diagnosis: Your condition has been diagnosed at the Omaha VA Medical Center, a VA clinic, or a private practice.
- In-service event: Service records, deployment records, or buddy statements show the injury, illness, or exposure.
- Medical nexus: A clinician’s reasoned opinion that the condition is at least as likely as not a result of that event.
Medical records support the diagnosis, military and personnel records support the event, and the nexus opinion is what connects the two for the VA.
Tell us about your case
When Should You Hire a VA Disability Lawyer?
Once the VA rules against you, you’ll have a set window to request a review and keep the claim open with the same date, and each appeal lane treats evidence differently. An experienced VA lawyer can help you pick the lane that fits what went wrong and file before the deadline.
- Supplemental Claim: For adding new and relevant evidence, like an outside doctor’s opinion that responds directly to the denial.
- Higher-Level Review: The VA re-decides your claim at a higher level based on the existing file, without new evidence.
- Board Appeal: A Veterans Law Judge reviews your case directly, with additional evidence, or after a hearing.
Reach out as soon as possible so we can help you maximize compensation. If we represent you, we prepare and file the appeal and handle the VA’s requests on your behalf until your case is decided.
VA Facilities and Veterans Services in the Omaha Area
- Douglas County Veterans Service Office: Help filing VA claims and applying for Nebraska Veterans Aid, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed noon to 1:00 p.m. 1111 S 41st Street, Suite 110, Omaha, NE 68105. Phone: 402-444-7180.
- Omaha VA Medical Center: Open around the clock. 4101 Woolworth Avenue, Omaha, NE 68105. Phone: 402-346-8800.
- Omaha Vet Center: Open Mon–Wed from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Thu–Fri from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 2132 South 42nd Street, Suite 1, Omaha, NE 68105. Phone: 402-346-6735.
- Omaha VA Clinic: VA Nebraska-Western Iowa‘s clinic in downtown Omaha. 825 Dorcas Street, Suite 200, Omaha, NE 68108. Phone: 402-977-4444.
- Sarpy County VA Clinic: 1330 Jersey Street, Papillion, NE 68046. Phone: 402-591-4500.
Housing Support for Homeless and At-Risk Veterans
Omaha-area veterans without stable housing can turn to VA Nebraska-Western Iowa homeless veteran care, whose homeless services care coordinators help with transitional or permanent housing, food and shelter right away, education and job training, support with the justice system and re-entry, financial help to prevent homelessness, depression and addiction treatment, and health and dental care.
A denial or low rating can leave you without income you were counting on to stay housed. Hill & Ponton gives those appeals priority, and doesn’t collect any attorney fees until the claim is granted.
Meet Our Expert Legal Team
VA attorneys representing veterans in Omaha, Douglas and Sarpy Counties, and nationwide.
Let Us Fight For Your Benefits
Need help appealing a VA decision? Contact our VA lawyers for a free evaluation of your claim.