Has your VA claim been denied or rated too low? Are you missing out on VA unemployability or special compensation? You’re not alone. South Carolina is home to over 350,000 veterans, and while many receive disability benefits, countless others are still fighting to have their service-connected conditions properly recognized and compensated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Hill & Ponton is a veterans’ disability law firm with a single mission: to help veterans like you win their rightful benefits. Our team of experienced, VA-accredited attorneys has handled thousands of successful appeals for disabled veterans across South Carolina and the nation. We’d be honored to fight for you, too.
Our Legal Services for South Carolina Veterans
- Disability Compensation: This tax-free benefit is paid to veterans with medical conditions caused or worsened during active duty. Our attorneys work hard to ensure South Carolina veterans receive the maximum compensation for their service-connected disabilities.
- Appeals: Hill & Ponton lawyers are highly experienced in the VA appeals process, including cases before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. We build strong, evidence-backed arguments to challenge VA decisions and win appeals on behalf of our clients.
- Rating Increases: Has your service-connected condition gotten worse? Or do you believe your original rating was too low? We can help you get a higher rating. Our legal team knows exactly what the VA looks for when reviewing requests for increased compensation.
- DIC and Survivor Benefits: We assist surviving spouses, children, and parents of service members who died in the line of duty or from a service-connected condition.
- Special Monthly Compensation: SMC is a higher-level tax-free benefit available in special circumstances, such as needing daily assistance or living with a severe disability like the loss of a limb or loss of use of an organ. We help eligible veterans and families obtain this enhanced benefit.
- Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability: If your service-connected disabilities prevent you from keeping steady employment, you may qualify for TDIU, which pays at the 100% rate even if your combined rating is less.
How Much Could You Receive?
A VA disability rating is a percentage assigned by the Department of Veterans Affairs that reflects the severity of your service-connected condition. This rating directly impacts the amount of monthly tax-free compensation you receive.
If you have multiple service-connected conditions, the VA uses a specific formula to combine them and determine your overall disability rating.
Your monthly compensation also varies based on whether you have eligible dependents, such as a spouse, children, or dependent parents.
You can estimate your combined rating and monthly benefit amount using the VA Disability Calculator.
Here’s what a single South Carolina veteran with no dependents currently receives each month:
- 10%: $175.51
- 20%: $346.95
- 30%: $537.42
- 40%: $774.16
- 50%: $1,102.04
- 60%: $1,395.93
- 70%: $1,759.19
- 80%: $2,044.89
- 90%: $2,297.96
- 100%: $3,831.30
South Carolina State Benefits
In addition to federal VA benefits, South Carolina provides a range of state-level benefits, such as tax exemptions, education assistance, veteran hiring preferences, and other supportive programs designed to honor your service and ease the challenges of civilian life.
Work with us to get your benefits
Why Should You Hire a VA Disability Lawyer?
While many veterans start the claims process on their own or with help from a Veterans Service Organization (VSO), a VA-accredited lawyer can make a big difference when your case involves a denied service connection, a low rating, or a complex appeal.
The VA regularly updates its procedures, policies, and requirements. Navigating these changes can be overwhelming, and even a small misstep could delay or harm your case. A knowledgeable VA disability attorney can help you stay ahead of these shifts, gather the right evidence, and build the strongest appeal possible.
At Hill & Ponton, VA disability law is all we do. We focus 100% on helping veterans (right here in South Carolina and across the country) win their appeals and get the benefits they’ve earned. Our attorneys understand how the VA works, and we know how to push back when your claim has been unfairly denied or underrated.
With a 96% success rate on the appeals we handle, we’re proud of the results we’ve achieved for thousands of veterans and their families. When you work with us, you’re not just hiring a lawyer, you’re gaining a dedicated team that fights for you every step of the way. You can find out more from the veterans we’ve helped.
What It Takes to Win Your Appeal
The VA commonly rejects or underrates claims because some essential elements aren’t sufficiently documented. Here’s what the VA checks for:
- A Current Diagnosed Disability: You must have a physical or mental condition that’s formally diagnosed by a medical professional.
- An In-Service Event, Injury, or Disease: There must be proof that the injury, illness, or exposure occurred while you were serving.
- A Medical Nexus: A medical expert must provide an opinion linking your diagnosed disability to that in-service event or exposure.
Our attorneys understand the complexities of VA disability law and know exactly what it takes to build a strong case. From gathering medical evidence to identifying VA mistakes, we fight to secure the highest possible rating and benefits for every veteran we represent.
Tell us about your case
VA Disability for Toxic Exposure
Many veterans develop serious health conditions after their service due to exposure to hazardous materials while on active duty or during training. Several military facilities in South Carolina have documented toxic exposure for which compensation may be possible:
- Joint Base Charleston: Surface water runoff from fire‑training areas has shown high concentrations of PFAS (“forever chemicals”) from the use of firefighting foam, contaminating the water flowing into the Ashley River.
- Fort Jackson (Columbia): Ongoing investigation for PFAS and other hazardous chemical exposure related to training and base operations.
- Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (Beaufort County): The site was placed on the Superfund list due to widespread contamination from solid waste, paint removal, solvents, PCBs and heavy metals in landfills (including the “Borrow Pit Landfill” active in the 1960s), roads, and adjacent marshes and ponds.
- McCrady Training Center (Eastover): A site inspection by the Army National Guard found PFAS (including PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS) in the groundwater.
- McEntire Air National Guard Base (Richland/Calhoun County): Identified in DoD / state sampling as one of several SC military installations where PFAS from firefighting foam may have impacted wells or groundwater near the base.
- Myrtle Beach Air Force Base: Environmental assessments uncovered PFAS and other chemical contamination from landfills, fire training areas, drainage ditches, and maintenance zones from before the base’s closure in 1993.
- Shaw Air Force Base (Sumter County): PFAS levels in community water wells and mobile home park water systems within a three‑mile radius of the base exceeded EPA lifetime advisory levels for PFOS/PFOA.
If you’re living with disabilities that stem from toxic exposure at a military base but have been struggling to get properly rated by the VA, our attorneys’ experience with toxic exposure claims can help you win the compensation you deserve. Contact us to take the next step, with no upfront costs.
Legal Resources and Lawyers Near You
Charleston
Charleston Vet Center: 3625 West Montague Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29418; Phone: (843) 789‑7000
Columbia
Columbia Vet Center: 1710 Richland Street Suite A, Columbia, SC 29201; Phone: (803) 765‑9944
South Carolina VA Facilities Providing Veteran Assistance
Veterans benefits offices
- South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs: 1800 St. Julian Place, Suite 305, Columbia, SC 29204; Phone: (803) 734‑0200
- Charleston County Veterans Affairs: 4045 Bridge View Dr, Suite B301, North Charleston, SC 29405; Phone: (843) 974‑6350
- Columbia Regional Benefit Office: 6437 Garners Ferry Rd, Columbia, SC 29209; Phone: (800) 827‑1000
- Richland County Veterans Affairs: 2020 Hampton St, Columbia, SC 29204; Phone: (803) 576‑1939
- Horry County Veterans Affairs: 1949 Industrial Park Rd, Conway, SC 29526; Phone: (843) 915‑5480
- Greenville County Veterans Affairs: 301 University Ridge, Suite 5300, Greenville, SC 29601; Phone: (864) 467‑7230
- Greenville Vet Center: 3 Caledon Suite B, Greenville, SC 29615; Phone: (864) 271‑2711
- Lexington County Veterans Affairs: 605 W Main St, Lexington, SC 29072; Phone: (803) 785‑8400
- Spartanburg County Veterans Affairs: 610 Chesnee Hwy, Spartanburg, SC 29303; Phone: (864) 596‑2553
- York County Veterans Affairs: 529 S Cherry Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29732; Phone: (803) 909‑7525
VA Medical centers
- Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center: 109 Bee Street, Charleston, SC 29401‑5799; Phone: (843) 577‑5011
- North Charleston VA Clinic: 6450 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29406; Phone: (843) 818‑5100
- Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center: 6439 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, SC 29209‑1638; Phone: (803) 776‑4000
VA Clinics
- Aiken VA Clinic: 951 Millbrook Ave, Aiken, SC 29803; Phone: (803) 643‑9016
- Beaufort VA Clinic: 1 Pinckney Boulevard, Beaufort, SC 29902‑6122; Phone: (843) 521‑3722
- Florence VA Clinic: 1380 Celebration Boulevard, Florence, SC 29501‑5495; Phone: (843) 661‑4102
- Goose Creek VA Clinic: 2418 NNPTC Circle, Goose Creek, SC 29445‑6314; Phone: (843) 577‑5011
- Lance Corporal Dana Cornell Darnell VA Clinic (formerly Greenville VA Clinic): 41 Park Creek Drive, Greenville, SC 29605‑4270; Phone: (864) 224‑6200
- Myrtle Beach VA Clinic: 1800 Airpark Drive, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577‑1412; Phone: (843) 839‑3200
- Orangeburg VA Clinic: 151 Magnolia Village Parkway, Orangeburg, SC 29118; Phone: (803) 533‑1335
- Spartanburg VA Clinic: 279 N Grove Medical Park Dr, Spartanburg, SC 29301; Phone: (864) 582‑7025
- Sumter VA Clinic: 407 N Salem Ave, Sumter, SC 29150; Phone: (803) 938‑9901
Housing Assistance and Support for South Carolina Veterans
South Carolina is grappling with a shortage of affordable housing for extremely low-income renters and rising cost of living that leaves many veterans in unstable situations. In response, the state is working to expand emergency shelter options and partnering with local groups to offer rapid rehousing and supportive services.
The Veterans’ Homelessness and Transition Grant, managed by the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs, was created in 2023 to help nonprofits and state agencies assist veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. It funds services like permanent housing, rent or utility assistance, transitional housing, and drug addiction treatment. The South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs also provides a list of housing resources including transitional housing, affordable housing coalitions, and local organizations that assist veterans.
Hill & Ponton specializes in legal support for veterans dealing with housing instability or unemployment, with no upfront costs. If you were denied compensation or were unfairly underrated, our South Carolina VA-accredited attorneys can help you win the benefits you deserve. Get in touch for a free case evaluation.