VA Disability Lawyer Serving Miami, Florida
Was your claim for disability benefits denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)?
If you live in Miami, Florida and suffer from a disabling condition related to your military service, a Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick veterans disability lawyer serving Miami may be able to help. Call us today at 800-544-9144 for a free case evaluation.
VA Resources in Miami, Florida
Veterans living in Miami, Florida can access a variety of medical and other VA resources within the city. These include:
- Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center: Provides primary care, mental health care, and specialty health services.
- Miami Flagler VA Clinic: Offers health care for homeless veterans.
- Miami Vet Center: Offers confidential help and counseling services for veterans, service members, and family members.
Veterans can also get assistance with their VA claims through the St. Petersburg VA Regional Office.
How to Get Disability Benefits in Miami, FL
VA offers disability compensation to qualifying veterans who have one or more service-connected conditions (i.e., conditions incurred in or caused by active military duty. To establish service connection, veterans must have evidence of the following three things:
- An in-service event, injury, or illness;
- A current diagnosis of a disabling condition by a medical professional; and
- A nexus, or link, between the in-service event and current disability.
VA will likely schedule a Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination with a VA doctor or contracted examiner to determine if service connection is warranted. A veteran may also obtain a nexus opinion from an outside medical professional or private physician to substantiate their claim.
VA Disability Compensation Rates
Once service connection is confirmed, VA assigns a disability rating to the veteran’s condition in the form of a percentage. A veteran’s combined disability rating (i.e., the combination of each individual disability rating using VA math) determines their monthly compensation rate.
As of December 1st, 2022 the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows:
- 0 percent disability rating: $0.00 per month
- 10 percent disability rating: $165.92 per month
- 20 percent disability rating: $327.99 per month
- 30 percent disability rating: $508.05 per month
- 40 percent disability rating: $731.86 per month
- 50 percent disability rating: $1,041.82 per month
- 60 percent disability rating: $1,319.65 per month
- 70 percent disability rating: $1,663.06 per month
- 80 percent disability rating: $1,933.15 per month
- 90 percent disability rating: $2,172.39 per month
- 100 percent disability rating: $3,621.95 per month
Appealing a VA Denial in Miami, FL
If VA denied your claim for benefits, or if they assigned you a disability rating that does not reflect the severity of your symptoms, you should file an appeal. There are currently three ways to appeal a VA denial:
- Higher-Level Review: Request a review of your current claim by a senior VA employee;
- Supplemental Claim: Submit new and relevant evidence as part of a Supplemental Claim; or
- Notice of Disagreement: File a Notice of Disagreement with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA).
In addition, if you choose to file a Notice of Disagreement, your appeal will go directly to BVA. Then you must also select a docket: direct docket, hearing docket, or evidence docket. If BVA denies your appeal, you have one year to file a Supplemental Claim or appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).
A CCK VA disability lawyer serving Miami, FL may be able to help you choose which appeal lane best fits your individual situation.
Should I Get a Miami Veterans Disability Lawyer?
An accredited veterans (VA) disability lawyer can assist you with preparing and filing an appeal and may even be able to represent you in front of the Board if needed. For reference, VA regulates who can represent a veteran and how much they can be paid under 38 CFR § 14.636.
The CCK team of experienced attorneys and advocates can help you gather supporting evidence (e.g., doctor’s reports, vocational evidence, lay statements, etc.) and file your appeal on your behalf. We also represent veterans before the CAVC and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
How CCK Can Help Disabled Veterans in Miami, FL
If VA denied you disability compensation for your service-related illness or injury, a CCK veterans disability lawyer serving Miami, FL may be able to help. CCK offers free case reviews to determine if and how we can help you secure VA compensation. Reach out to CCK at 800-544-9144 to get started.
Miami Blog Posts
- CCK Successfully Argues on Behalf of Appellant Seeking Service Connection for Late Veteran’s Ischemic Heart Disease
Veteran’s Heart Condition Claim Reopened Under Nehmer The late Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1969 to January 1975, during the Vietnam era. In April 1988, VA denied his claim for benefits for aortic insufficiency. The Regional Office (“RO”) continued this denial in a June 1989 decision. Subsequently, VA […]
- VA’s Duty to Assist
What is VA’s “Duty to Assist”? The phrase “duty to assist” describes the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ obligation to help veterans develop their claims. Duty to assist requires VA to aid veterans in gathering evidence to prove service connection, such as service personnel records, service medical records, and VA medical records. VA’s Duty to […]
- Bills in Congress to Aid Veterans Suffering from Toxic Exposure
Many veterans who served overseas throughout the 1990s and the post-9/11 wars have since been diagnosed with cancers, respiratory issues, and lung diseases at young ages that are thought to be the result of exposure to toxic substances, such as the fumes released from open-air burn pits. Most of the major bases in Iraq and […]