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At Stone Rose Law we have assembled a dedicated team of experienced and passionate Veteran’s Disability Benefits attorneys to fight for the rights of our clients. All of our VA and military law attorneys are fully accredited by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to represent clients before the Agency. Our Arizona military law attorneys have the experience and tenacity needed to help you obtain the benefits you deserve!
VA disability compensation is intended to compensate veterans for injuries incurred as a result of their military service. However, the rules and regulations surrounding disability compensation can be complicated, confusing, and downright contradictory at times.
To obtain VA benefits, a military veteran must:
After the VA receives sufficient evidence, typically through a VA ordered Compensation and Pension examination (C&P exam), they will compare the Veteran’s symptomology to the VA Schedule of Rating Disabilities and assign a disability rating. Ratings can range from 0% to 100%, and the percentage of VA disability can have a drastic impact on a Veteran’s life! For example, having any compensable disability ensures that the Veteran’s VA home loan funding fee will be waived or entitle the Veteran to complimentary healthcare through VA hospitals. See our VA disability calculator here.
In addition to healthcare and funding fee waivers, disabled veterans are entitled to a variety of benefits under the laws of most states. Most importantly, VA disability ratings of 10% or greater entitle the veteran to a tax-free monthly disability payment! These payments can range from about $100 a month to well over $3,000 depending on the veteran’s total rating!
While it seems that every day the VA finds new and unique ways to mess up the claims process, there are several common errors that arise on the long road from application to a grant of benefits. Some of these are the fault of the VA themselves, others rest upon the veteran themselves.
Common errors in claims include:
The good news is that many of these errors can be corrected with the help of a VA disability lawyer with experience and knowledge of VA regulations! A VA disability benefits attorney can assist you in obtaining evidence needed to prevail on a claim or in formulating an appeal challenging the VA’s decision on a case!
The dedicated VA disability benefits attorneys at Stone Rose Law have the knowledge and experience to assist veterans with their disability benefits claims! Whether it is an initial application for benefits or challenging a denial, our attorneys are ready to help you obtain the disability benefits you earned.
We begin with a systematic approach to VA disability cases. After consultation with an accredited VA disability benefits attorney, and with your permission, our attorneys will obtain a copy of your VA claims file. Because our attorneys are granted access directly to the systems the VA uses to maintain claims files, we can get your claims file very quickly.
After obtaining access to your claims file, we begin with a thorough and comprehensive review of everything contained therein. That means we review all of your service treatment records, your VA records, any previous claims for benefits as well as any rating decisions. We meticulously scour the record looking for:
After reviewing your file and creating a plan, we will then discuss our findings and our recommendations with you.
If you have never applied for VA benefits in the past, we will assist you in preparing and filing a claim for free. We will monitor your claim, assist you with preparing for C&P examinations, and advise you of any VA decisions for free.
Our attorneys have experience working with medical doctors, psychologists, and vocational examiners to obtain favorable opinions. Many times, C&P examiners contracted by the VA aren’t qualified, don’t listen to the Veteran’s symptoms, or render medically unsupported opinions. In these cases, our attorneys have the experience and network necessary to combat these harmful examinations and to counter them with better medical evidence.
Likely, yes! Many times, erroneous claims denials come down to one of two issues: the VA overlooked evidence of record OR the veteran didn’t provide sufficient evidence needed to grant the claim. These two are extremely common errors for a few reasons. Mainly, VA raters are under immense time pressure to adjudicate claims – which leads to overlooking or missing evidence in their possession! Additionally, many veterans are simply unaware of what is required to award a grant of benefits. Many times, these types of errors can be corrected with a simple statement from the veteran explaining how the injury occurred.
When it comes to appeals, Congress and the VA have sought to simplify the options for veterans to challenge an initial VA decision. Those options are:
Appealing to the Board comes with its own set of choices and options. These include:
Each appeal option has its own benefits and downsides. Choosing the best appeal lane is important to ensure a timely benefits decision. Our Arizona VA disability appeals lawyers have experience navigating the complex system of VA appeals and can assist you in choosing the best avenue!
Many veterans want to seek the services of an experienced VA disability benefits lawyer but are worried about the costs associated with retaining an attorney. Fortunately, at Stone Rose Law, our experienced and dedicated VA disability benefits attorneys are ready to represent you at no out of pocket cost for most situations.
We will prepare and file any initial claims for benefits free of charge. This includes requests for increased disability compensation. We will monitor the claim and help you prepare for your C&P exams free of charge. Yes, you read that right. Free. Not only is it the right thing to do for our Veterans, but its also illegal to charge for preparation and filing of initial claims.
If your claims have been denied within 1 year, or there exists Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) in a prior decision, we will appeal the decision or prepare a motion to revise a prior decision based on CUE. In these cases, you pay nothing unless we win! If we win, you would only pay 20% of whatever past-due benefits we obtain (plus case expenses, if any). This is a one-time payment – any benefits we obtain for you moving forward are yours!
The best part? In most cases, the VA will withhold 20% from your backpay and pay us directly on your behalf.
Case expenses would include things such as obtaining an independent medical opinion, nexus opinion, vocational report, or medical records. Prior to incurring any case expenses, we confer with our clients about why the reports or opinion is needed and how it can help the case. If the client agrees, our Firm will pay for the cost upfront and would be reimbursed only if we are successful!
Veterans benefits law is an extremely nuanced and complicated area. First, Congress passes a broad statute. Then, the VA creates regulations to implement the statute. Then, the VA creates internal rules and regulations interpreting the regulations they created to implement the statute. This results in a confusing, contradictory, and extraordinarily complicated array of rules and regulations that many VA raters themselves don’t adequately understand.
Retaining a VA disability attorney early in the process can help ensure that your claims and appeals are processed as smoothly and correctly as possible. Don’t delay! Call Stone Rose Law today at 480-498-8998. Our attorneys are ready to assist you with your veterans benefits claims!