VA claims
Compensation from the VA
VA compensation pays veterans for conditions that began in service or got worse because of it. The amount follows a rating in steps of ten, from 0 to 100 percent, and each condition is rated on its own and then combined.
We help with first claims, with increases when a condition gets worse, and with the conditions the law now presumes came from service, like those tied to burn pits and Agent Orange.
Service records and medical records
A current diagnosis
A link between the two, in a doctor’s words
Where VA claims go wrong
Three places we see claims stall, and what we do about each.
No link to service
The diagnosis is there, but nothing in the file ties it to service. We ask a doctor to write that link and say why.
A short exam
The C&P exam took twenty minutes and missed half of what you live with. We look at the examiner’s report and ask for another when it’s thin.
Ratings that don’t combine the way you’d expect
Thirty and twenty don’t make fifty. VA math works from what’s left; we check the arithmetic on every decision.
What veterans ask us
Do I need my DD-214?
It helps. If you can’t find it, we can request your records from the National Personnel Records Center.
Is it too late to file?
No. There’s no deadline to file a first claim. There is one, a year, to challenge a decision you’ve had.
Will a higher rating affect my other benefits?
It can, for the better, like health care priority. Tell us about every benefit you get and we’ll check.
Rated too low, or not at all?
Bring your latest decision letter, or tell us what you’re applying for.