If your claim for veterans benefits was denied by the VA, you have one year in which to perfect your appeal. In many cases, the reasons cited for the appeal are:
- A dispute over the presence of an allowable disability
- A disagreement over your disability being service related
- A difference of opinion over your level of disability
What will be included in your appeal?
It is at this time that you may wish to engage the services of veterans benefits attorneys in Pennsylvania. It is very important that you target your appeal, decide the reason, and support it with as much evidence as you can. Be very specific; there is no reason for you to address that which you agree.
Your attorney can help you develop supporting evidence that addresses the concerns of the VA. Perhaps the VA admits that you are disabled, but they do not agree that it has any connection to your years of military service. If this is the case, gather statements from veterans that can attest to the circumstances that led to your disability and get independent opinions from doctors.
Filing your appeal:
As the first step, many veterans that were denied benefits will ask their local VA office to review the new and additional evidence they have. If your claim is still denied, then you can elevate your appeal to the Board of Appeals.
You can go straight to the Board of Appeals rather than go through the local VA office first. If you do this, specify that you waive the option of involving the local office. If you fail to make this known, the new evidence may end up back at the local level, which will only delay the process even further.
There is a great deal of detailed information to support your appeal. To ensure that the information that is provided is correct and is submitted promptly, you may wish to hire veterans benefits attorneys in Pennsylvania to help handle your appeal correctly.
If your claim for veterans benefits was denied, veterans benefits attorneys in Pennsylvania can help your chances in eventually winning your case. For a free initial consultation contact Jackson & MacNichol, Attorneys at Law.