Veterans (VA) Disability Lawyer Serving Alabama
If you live in Alabama and served in the military, you could be eligible to receive benefits from VA for current disabilities you believe to be due to your time in service.
Unfortunately, VA may deny your initial claim for service-connected compensation for a variety of reasons. If you need help appealing a VA disability decision, a veterans lawyer from Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD serving Alabama may be able to assist.
To speak with a member of our team call 800-544-9144.
Alabama VA Benefit Resources
The state’s Regional Office is located in Montgomery and there are several VA medical centers located in various regions of the state. These VA facilities are listed below:
VA Regional Benefit Offices
- Montgomery: Montgomery Regional Benefit Office
VA Medical Centers
- Birmingham: Birmingham VA Medical Center
- Montgomery: Central Alabama Veterans’ Health Care System West Campus
- Tuscaloosa: Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center
- Tuskegee: Central Alabama Veterans’ Health Care System East Campus
Outpatient Clinics
- Dothan: Dothan Mental Health Clinic
- Selma: Selma Outpatient Clinic
Alabama VA Statistics
The state of Alabama is home to over 373,000 veterans, comprising nearly 10 percent of the population, giving it one of the nation’s highest shares of veteran residents. Nearly 95,000 Alabama veterans receive VA disability benefits, and over 172,000 of them are enrolled in VA’s health care system. Of that number, more than 112,000 have been treated at a VA health care center.
Approximately 43 percent of Alabama’s veterans are 65 or older and more than 16 percent are military retirees.
Build a VA Disability Appeal
To receive disability compensation, you must satisfy VA’s three requirements. First, you must have a current diagnosis that meets VA’s definition of a qualifying disability. Second, you must provide evidence that you experienced an event, injury, or illness during your military service. Third, you must provide a “nexus” between your current, diagnosed disability and the event or injury during your service.
You Have a Current, Diagnosed Condition
We must show VA that you are currently diagnosed with a condition. Unlike Social Security, VA does not require you to be totally disabled to receive benefits. VA may grant compensation for partial disability, and uses a disability rating scale in order to do so. The rating scale ranges from 0 to 100 percent and is based on the severity of your service-connected condition.
You Experienced an Event, Injury, Illness During Service
Second, we must prove that you experienced an event during your service. caused or contributed to your condition. This event can include an injury sustained during combat or exposure to a toxic chemical.
Proving a “Nexus” Between Your Condition and the Event
The final step is to provide a “nexus” between your condition and the in-service event or injury. A nexus is a connection between the two, which must be established by a qualified medical professional. In order to have a positive nexus, the medical professional must state that it is “at least as likely as not” that your condition is due to your military service.
Without this nexus, VA could deny you disability benefits.
VA Disability Rating Benefit Amounts
Your combined VA disability rating, which ranges between 0 and 100 percent, determines your monthly compensation. Not sure what your VA disability rating is? Take a look at our VA disability calculator.
As of December 1st, 2023 the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows:
- 0 percent disability rating: $0.00 per month
- 10 percent disability rating: $171.23 per month
- 20 percent disability rating: $338.49 per month
- 30 percent disability rating: $524.31 per month
- 40 percent disability rating: $755.28 per month
- 50 percent disability rating: $1,075.16 per month
- 60 percent disability rating: $1,361.88 per month
- 70 percent disability rating: $1,716.28 per month
- 80 percent disability rating: $1,995.01 per month
- 90 percent disability rating: $2,241.91 per month
- 100 percent disability rating: $3,737.85 per month
If you have a combined disability rating of 30 percent or higher, you may receive additional benefits for qualifying dependents such as a spouse, child under 18, child between 18 and 23 in school, or dependent parent.
We May Be Able to Help if You Were Denied VA Disability
Have you been denied benefits by VA? The veterans disability lawyers serving Alabama at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD may be able to help.
If you received a denial of benefits, consider calling us today at 800-544-9144 to speak with a member of our team.
Are You Eligible for TDIU?
If you are unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment because of your service-connected conditions, you may be eligible for Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). TDIU offers the same monthly compensation amount as a 100 percent schedular disability rating, even if your combined rating does not meet 100 percent.
Speak with the Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD Team Today at 800-544-9144
The team at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD is committed to helping our Alabama veterans receive the benefits to which they are rightfully entitled.
Call us today at 800-544-9144 for a free evaluation.
Alabama Blog Posts
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What Is VA Form 21-0781? Veterans who are seeking service-connected benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can fill out and submit VA Form 21-0781: Statement in Support of Claimed Mental Health Disorder(s) Due to an In-Service Traumatic Event(s). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses VA Form 21-0781 to help determine if service connection for […]
- 2022 VA Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) Rates
What Is Special Monthly Compensation (SMC)? The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awards special monthly compensation (SMC) to veterans with service-connected conditions so severe that they warrant a rating higher than 100 percent. The idea is that certain disabilities or combinations of disabilities are more debilitating than accounted for by the regular rating schedule. […]
- VA Disability Benefits for Spondylosis
What is Spondylosis? Spondylosis is a form of degenerative disease that can affect the spine and neck. The condition affects the discs and vertebrae, or bones, of the spine. It can affect any part of the spine, meaning different people may have different types of spondylosis. For example, if a person’s spondylosis affects the neck, […]