Veterans disability benefits is a full-time practice area at the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, law firm of Quatrini Rafferty, P.C. Attorneys Michael V. Quatrini and Brian Patrick Bronson are certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to represent members of the armed services who suffer service-connected disabilities or diseases. In short, veterans disability benefits are available to members of the armed services who suffer physical or psychological injuries or diseases while on active duty. This includes injuries or diseases that were made worse by active duty military service. The amount of the monthly benefit depends on the degree of disability and additional benefits are payable in certain instances.
Contact us online or call 888-534-6016 for assistance in obtaining the veterans benefits you are entitled to.
Attorneys Helping You Apply for VA Benefits
The process for obtaining benefits is similar to applying for Social Security Disability. Our law firm assists veterans in submitting an application, which describes your injuries and details the connection between your injuries and the particular service-related event.
A specific description of that precipitating event is critical, along with medical evidence supporting the connection between the event and the injuries. Official military documentation of the event is very beneficial to the claim, as is testimony from fellow servicemates.
Discharge or separation papers (DD214 or equivalent) are also needed. It should be noted that disability benefits are not available for those who received a dishonorable discharge.
Once the application is complete it is submitted to a local VA office for review. The local office makes a decision as to (1) whether the claim is service connected, and if so, (2) the percentage of disability assigned to the injury.
VA Disability Presumptive Conditions
Some conditions, depending on the dates and locations of active duty, are eligible for "presumptive" status, meaning that the VA process presumes that active-duty service caused these conditions. It is then up to the VA to disprove the connection. These include, but are not limited to:
- Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS)
- Hodgkin's disease
- Prostate cancer
- Diabetes mellitus (Type 2)
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
Prisoners of war can receive presumptive status for certain medical conditions, such as psychosis, anxiety, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, heart disease, or stroke.
During the Vietnam War, U.S. military forces used herbicides in Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops, and clear vegetation from the perimeters of U.S. bases. This effort lasted from 1962 to 1971. Since that time, the VA has determined that a positive association exists between exposure to herbicides and the subsequent development of 11 conditions, which also have presumptive status:
- Chloracne
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
- Hodgkin's disease
- Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT)
- Multiple myeloma
- Acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy
- Prostate cancer
- Respiratory cancers (cancers of the lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea)
- Type 2 diabetes (also known as Type II diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes)
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- B-Cell Leukemias
- Parkinson's disease
- Ischemic Heart Disease
Greensburg Denied VA Benefits Attorney
If the local VA office either denies your claim or assigns a low or zero percentage of disability to the condition(s), the claim can be appealed to a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans Appeals. At Quatrini Rafferty, our attorneys can assist you in filing an appeal, which must be filed within one year of the initial decision. Unfortunately, the average wait time for a hearing on an appeal is 971 days. Prior to the hearing, an attorney from our office will meet with you to review the initial decision and collect updated medical evidence.
The Hearing — Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans Appeals
At the hearing, the veteran will testify concerning the details of the disability and the precipitating event. After the hearing, the board can either affirm the denial of the claim or reverse the decision and grant benefits. If the denial is affirmed, a further appeal can be taken to U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
If you believe you have a claim for veterans disability benefits or need a lawyer to appeal a denied claim, call our Pittsburgh veterans benefits attorneys at 888-534-6016 or contact us online.
TO REQUEST YOUR MILITARY RECORDS ONLINE:
Military personnel records are important for proving military service. Most veterans can obtain free copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records by requesting them online at the website of the U.S. National Archives.
Go to www.archives.gov and click on "Veterans' Service Records", and follow the instructions.
OR GO DIRECTLY TO the Military Service Records page of the National Archives at:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/
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