It isn't always easy to get compensation from Veterans Affairs (VA). Even if your injury is legitimate and was caused by events during your military service, you may get caught up in an often overzealous, over-tuned policy of searching for fraudulent or insufficient claims. If you're dealing with a denial or have no idea what to submit for your first claim, don't give up; the VA understands that it makes mistakes, and a personal injury attorney can help you make a better appeal. A few injury claim concepts and fact-finding techniques can help you push your claim to approval, even if it takes a few years to get it right.
Why Would A Legitimate Claim BE Denied?
In order to qualify for injury compensation from the VA, the injury must be service-connected. If the injury did not happen during your military service (active duty or reserve) or was not caused by incidents during military service, you need to seek assistance from different programs. Thankfully, the VA is willing to point you towards different programs and may even assist with paperwork preparation.
If your injury was caused during military service and you were still denied, you may simply lack sufficient information. Denial letters usually come with a standard message that fits your situation, explaining what you're missing.
A claim usually lacks enough official documentation to support a claim. Even if you know you were in a war zone and have proof of your time in a war zone, unless you have the medical documentation to prove your injury, you'll have a hard time proving the connection. A war zone soldier may survive combat unscathed only to be injured in a car accident well after leaving the military--a situation that isn't common, but not at all unheard of in claims offices.
Making The Documentation Fit The Claim
Search your medical records for proof of your injuries. You may not have noticed a smaller than usual set of information on a single page that could support your claim, and claims processors could have missed the information as well. The VA is a helpful organization, but it's up to you to point out the information as plainly as possible to achieve faster success.
Some veterans may be in an unfortunate situation due to the lack of medical personnel and lost paperwork for injuries that seemed to recover during service, but turned out to cause major problems later on.
If you simply can't find the documentation or don't have enough, you'll need the help of a personal injury attorney and a dedicated medical staff. It's possible to get a realistic time frame of the injury and submit a medical examination that can be used for your injury claim. If you don't know where to start, contact an attorney now to begin planning your next appeal or claim.
To learn more, contact Burgess, Harrell, Mancuso, Colton, La Porta & Shea.
