Helping Veterans Win VA Claims & Appeals: A Guide for Family & Friends
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Filing for VA benefits can be complicated and confusing, especially for veterans whose disabilities hamper them in everyday life. Veterans who have family, friends, spouses, or caregivers may be able to enlist their aid in navigating the complex VA claims process.
If you are a friend or family member of a disabled veteran and want to help them claim the compensation and benefits they have earned through service, then you have options available. You may also benefit, both indirectly through compensation given to the veteran for dependents, and directly through actual benefits created for dependents and caregivers.
This article will explore the best strategies you can use to help your veteran gain the compensation that they—and you—are entitled to.
Key points of this article include:
- A veteran’s friends and family members can provide invaluable help in gathering evidence, writing lay statements, transporting the veteran to important VA appointments, and more.
- In addition to benefits for the veteran, a veteran’s dependents can also receive substantial benefits from VA, including health care and education assistance.
- It is important to know when to ask for help during VA’s claims process. Consult veterans service officers (VSOs) or organizations to assist with the basics of filing for compensation. If your claim is denied, then a VA-accredited attorney could also help you appeal your case.
Be a Source of Encouragement
One of the best ways you can support your veteran is by being a consistent source of encouragement. For veterans dealing with service-connected disabilities, it can be difficult to overcome the mindset—often instilled in service—that they should ignore pain and injury, avoid asking for help, and preserve benefits for others.
It is important to remind your loved one that filing a claim for VA benefits is not selfish; it is responsible. Disability compensation is part of what the country promised them when they signed up to serve. By filing a claim, they are simply accepting the compensation that they are entitled to.
Help Gather Evidence
Once your veteran has decided to file a claim, the next thing you can do to help is to assist them in gathering evidence to support their claim. In most VA disability cases, this evidence will serve as proof that a veteran’s condition is connected to their military service.
Typically, to establish service connection, you need three key elements:
- A current, diagnosed disability: To qualify for VA disability benefits, a veteran needs to have a confirmed diagnosis from a medical professional.
- An in-service event, injury, or illness: VA requires proof that something occurred during active duty that could have caused or contributed to the current health issue, such as an accident, illness, or exposure to toxic substances.
- A nexus (i.e., link) between the disability and service: There must be medical evidence linking the diagnosed condition to the service-related event. Often, this “nexus” is supported by a letter from a healthcare provider who explains how the disability is related to the veteran’s time in service.
If your veteran is missing any of these elements, it is unlikely their claim will be decided in their favor.
Understand What Types of Evidence Your Veteran Requires
When it comes to satisfying the three criteria above, VA will accept several kinds of evidence. These include:
- Military service records: The keystone of many VA benefit cases, military records are often critical to establishing a disability is service connected. Important documents to seek out include DD214 (Certificate of Discharge), Service Medical Records (SMRs), and Personnel Records.
- Medical evidence: Since a professional diagnosis is essential to a successful VA claim, medical evidence will be crucial to your veteran’s case. Some evidence to gather includes Medical Records (whether In-Service, Private, or VA Records), C&P exam results, and outside medical opinions.
- Employment records: Employment records can often be important in illustrating why your veteran is unable to maintain gainful work. Documents worth submitting include performance evaluations, disciplinary records, and VA Form 21-4192.
Be Aware of VA’s Duty to Assist
Note that you or your veteran does not need to collect all the evidence to prove a claim by yourself.
Unlike, for example, a private insurance claim, the VA claims process is technically considered to be “non-adversarial.” One way that is reflected is that VA has a duty to assist, which includes making a reasonable effort to collect all relevant evidence if made aware that the evidence exists and is relevant. For example, VA could itself obtain the in-service medical records proving that your veteran was in a vehicular accident that caused their condition.
However, VA cannot source all evidence (e.g., lay statements); also, records may require the veteran’s assistance to obtain (e.g., permission for private medical records). Also, referencing evidence that you do not technically need can lead to unnecessary delays while VA collects it.
Provide Lay Statements
Another vital service you can provide to your veteran is to provide or help collect lay statements.
Lay statements are pieces of testimony written by a veteran’s friends, family, co-workers, fellow service members, or others in support of a veteran’s VA claim. While not as valuable as military or medical records, these statements can still prove crucial to establishing the severity or service-connection of a veteran’s condition.
If you often spend time with your veteran, consider writing a lay statement of your own describing how their symptoms affect their daily life. Alternatively, you could gather lay evidence from others, like co-workers who have seen your veteran struggle on the job, or fellow service members who witnessed the event that caused your veteran’s disability.
Track Symptoms and Treatment
If you live with your veteran or otherwise give care to them, it may also be beneficial to keep track of their symptoms and treatment over time. While this is useful for physical disorders, it is particularly valuable for conditions like PTSD or TBI, since their effects can be less obvious to an outsider.
VA lends considerable weight to the insights of those closely associated with a veteran, since they are often witnesses to the real-life impact of serious conditions. You may even notice things about your veteran’s disability that the veteran has not, such as mood swings, sleep disturbances, memory issues, or physical limitations.
Assist with VA Appointments and C&P Exams
For many disabled veterans, transportation to and from VA appointments can be a significant barrier to successfully pursuing a claim. In cases where a veteran cannot drive or manage transportation, the assistance of a friend or family member can be invaluable.
Be sure to offer to drive your veteran to their appointments or even accompany them on public transportation. This is especially important for C&P exams. After all, if your veteran misses a C&P exam appointment, it can result in the denial of their claim.
Depending on the professional performing the exam, you may even be able to remain present in the room while the exam is conducted. This is often helpful for veterans who want someone by their side to assist in explaining their symptoms. And in the case that the claim is denied, your presence in the room during the exam may allow you to testify on your veteran’s behalf during an appeal hearing.
Consider Total Disability Ratings
If your veteran may be eligible for a total disability rating, you should encourage them to make any additional effort required to obtain one.
A 100 percent or total disability rating is when VA determines that your veteran’s condition is debilitating enough that it prevents them from supporting themselves through employment. Receiving a total disability rating can be life-changing for a veteran. It unlocks many additional benefits that even a veteran rated at 90 percent disabled would not qualify for. Some of these include:
- No-cost health care and prescriptions for the veteran
- Access to CHAMPVA health care for spouses and other qualified dependents
- Dependent Education Assistance (DEA)
- Additional special monthly compensation (SMC)
If you or your veteran believe that they qualify for 100 percent disability, then consider pursuing that rating with VA. While it may be tempting to settle for a lower rating—especially if you have already waited months or years for a decision—it is more important to claim everything your veteran is eligible for, so they can maximize their benefits.
Research State-Specific Benefits
While the benefits VA offers are often in-depth and comprehensive, they are not the only resource your veteran can rely upon for compensation. State governments sometimes offer benefits to veterans, as well, which can be well worth your veteran’s time to pursue.
Some of these benefits include property tax exemptions, college tuition waivers, or even employment assistance. Try visiting your state’s veterans affairs website or speak with your local Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to learn what is available, as these benefits can add real value to your veteran’s quality of life.
Remember Benefits for Dependents and Caregivers
Once VA has granted service connection for a veteran’s disability, other benefits may become available for family members, dependents, and sometimes even the friends or roommates with whom veterans live.
Depending on the severity of your veteran’s VA disability rating, some of these benefits may include:
- Additional monthly compensation, if the veteran has dependents or caregivers
- Education assistance for dependents
- CHAMPVA medical care for family and caregivers
- Property tax exemption on the state level for the veteran and everyone they live with
- VA caregiver support programs and Aid & Attendance benefits
It is important to note that these benefits may continue even after the veteran passes away, so long as they received a qualifying rating from VA.
Ask for Professional Help
Pursuing a VA claim can be a complex, cumbersome process, but that does not mean you or your veteran has to go it alone.
While it is against the law for anyone to charge your veteran for help filing an initial claim, there are many Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) willing to provide free assistance. You can find a VSO using VA’s website or through your local veteran organizations.
When it comes to appeals and similar follow-up claims, however, it is possible to hire VA-accredited law firms to help you with your case. Except in rare circumstances, veterans are only charged if the law firm wins, and their fees are limited by law.
Contact CCK Law
If you are not getting the results you should have with your veteran’s claim, consider reaching out to a VA-accredited firm like CCK Law. Our attorneys are here to guide and assist you through every step of the claims process, so you can receive the benefits you have earned.
Feel free to call us at (800) 544-9144 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.
