Understanding Veterans Disability Law
Did you know that there are more than 370,000 Veterans living in New Jersey? Out of these, 99,000 are disabled and may be entitled to disability benefits.
When a Veteran has a physical or mental injury or illness that has occurred as a result of or during active duty, there are opportunities for them to obtain medical care even after military service is over. When this injury or illness results in disability (also known as a service-connected disability) a Veteran is entitled to receive monthly payments which depend on how severely he or she is disabled (also known as their disability rating). A Veterans Disability attorney can help them get the benefits they deserve.
Prior to 2006 Veterans were not allowed to hire VA disability lawyers to represent them. However, in 2006 Congress recognized that Veterans should have the right to hire VA claim lawyers because Veterans Disability law is extremely complex. VA claim lawyers can now represent Veterans and their spouses, survivors, and dependents in the Regional Office and the Board of Veterans Appeals.
Veterans Disability FAQs
What are the different types of Veterans Disability benefits?
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides compensation for two types of disability, namely service-connected and non-service-connected disability benefits. Non-service-connected pension is a needs-based benefit program for wartime Veterans who are age 65 or older, have limited income, or have a permanent and total non-service-connected disability. Read more about VA pension and eligibility requirements on the VA Pension Factsheet.
A service-connected disability is when a Veteran has become disabled as a result of their service in the United States military. Every Veteran applying for disability benefits through the VA needs to prove that the condition occurred during active service. At Wolf & Brown Law Offices, we often discover that clients benefit from claims that they had not thought to include in their cases and therefore do not file claims they think they are not entitled to, when in fact they are. Common types of service-connected disability claims include:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Agent Orange exposure
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Anxiety disorders
- Depression
- Musculoskeletal
The experienced VA disability attorneys at Wolf & Brown can help Veterans whose injury or illness did not necessarily occur during service but was aggravated during active duty.
Contact us today for a free consultation
How can I appeal a denied VA disability claim?
Veterans have the right to appeal a denied claim in the following scenarios:
- Denial of an initial claim
- Being given a lower-than-expected rating for an initial claim
- Application to incorrect effective date for an initial claim
To appeal a denial, an incorrect effective date, or an inadequate disability rating, contact us today for a free consultation with an attorney who specializes in Veterans Disability benefits. We will investigate all available evidence and data to create a robust appeal. Our goal is to ensure your full disability award is given.
Read our Disability Benefits FAQs page
Why hire a Veterans Disability attorney?
Hiring a Veterans Disability attorney is beneficial because:
- We can help clarify any issues
- We ensure that the claim is supported by sufficient and proper evidence
- We meet all client deadlines
A VA disability attorney who handles all claims of a given client gets a big picture of the person’s health that can be invaluable. We often discover that clients benefit from claims based on disabilities, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that they had not thought to include in their cases.
How much does a Veterans Disability attorney cost?
Our firm handles disabled Veteran benefits claims on a contingency basis, which means no fees unless we succeed.
We also offer a free initial consultation to answer the questions you have about your specific case. Our clients have nothing to lose, everything to gain.
Why choose Wolf & Brown Law Offices?
We are VA certified attorneys who only work with disability benefits cases! With more than 40 years of experience in our role as Veterans Disability attorneys, we ensure that clients meet deadlines and correctly navigate the legal system to their best advantage. As disability specialists, we have the experience necessary for navigating this complex system better than anyone else.
We also take pride in serving Veterans and their family members. At Wolf & Brown Law Offices, you will never be passed off to a nameless and faceless clerk or paralegal to only meet your attorney the day of your hearing.
Wolf & Brown attorneys are VA-accredited and are sustaining members of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), the Camden County Bar Association and the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates (NOVA).