Veteran (VA) Disability Lawyer Serving Illinois
If you are an Illinois resident who developed a disabling medical condition as a result of an injury, illness, or event that occurred during active duty military service, you might be entitled to disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. You can receive VA disability benefits whether you are partially or fully disabled.
Unfortunately, obtaining these benefits is difficult and denials occur all too often. The team of veterans advocates at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD focuses on VA disability law, helping veterans such as yourself appeal these denials and receive the benefits you deserve. A veteran (VA) disability lawyer serving Illinois can help you navigate the challenges — of which there can be many — of proving your case to the VA and getting your deserved benefits. Our track record is long and successful. Let us use it to help your case.
For a free consultation, call 800-544-9144 today.
Illinois VA Benefit Resources
Illinois has one VA Regional Benefit Office, located in Chicago. If you need medical care, however, you have many options throughout the state.
Illinois VA Regional Benefit Office
- Chicago: Chicago Regional Benefit Office
Illinois VA Medical Centers
- Chicago: Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
- Danville: VA Illiana Health Care System
- Hines: Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
- Marion: Marion VA Medical Center
- North Chicago: Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center
Illinois VA Statistics
As of 2016, Illinois’s veteran population totals nearly 647,000, making up 6.8 percent of the state’s residents. Currently, more than 95,000 veterans in Illinois receive VA disability benefits, and over 276,000 Illinois veterans are enrolled in the VA healthcare system. Nearly 180,000 of the veterans in Illinois who are signed up with the VA healthcare system have received treatment at a VA facility.
Over half of Illinois’s veterans (50.4 percent) are at least 65 years old. Nearly six percent are military retirees, servicemembers who put in enough years to retire from the military with full benefits.
How to Win an Appeal for VA Disability Benefits in Illinois
We know a denial can feel like the end of the road, but it does not have to be. The legal team at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick can help you win the VA disability benefits you deserve.
For your appeal to be successful, we must demonstrate three things to the VA:
- An event, injury, or illness occurred during military service;
- That you have a current diagnosis of a medical condition considered disabling by the VA; and
- That the specific event, illness, or injury in your military service caused or contributed to your condition.
In certain situations, the VA automatically assumes that your condition is linked to your military service. This is called presumptive service connection, and you can receive a grant under this provision if you served in a certain capacity and later developed health problems. For instance, Vietnam veterans qualify for presumptive service connections for a host of conditions due to exposure to Agent Orange during the war.
If the VA does not presume service connection, we can gather evidence to link your condition to your military service. For instance, if you developed a disabling back condition during or after your military service, we might be able to establish a cause-and-effect relationship with a training exercise or combat injury.
Your service record, medical history, lab tests, doctor statements, expert witness testimony, and other evidence can help us prove to the VA that your medical condition arose due to a specific event in your military service.
VA Disability Compensation Levels
The amount of compensation you will receive in veteran disability benefits depends on your combined disability rating.
You will receive a rating from 0 to 100 percent (in 10 percent increments), a 0 percent rating resulting in no monthly compensation but possible ancillary benefits (e.g., health care), and a 100 percent combined rating resulting in the highest monthly benefit.
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
A combined 30 percent rating or higher also qualifies you for additional compensation if you have dependents (e.g., spouse, dependent children, dependent parents) living in your household.
Call 800-544-9144 for a Free Consultation
The legal team at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD can help you build a successful claim for VA disability benefits. For a free consultation, call us today at 800-544-9144.
Illinois Blog Posts
- What Is the VA Disability 5-Year Rule?
What Is the VA Disability 5-Year Rule? The VA disability rating 5-year rule states that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cannot reduce a veteran’s disability rating if it has been in place for five years or more unless the condition shows sustained improvement over time. In this situation, the veteran’s rating is considered […]
- How to Check the Status of your VA Compensation Claim
By checking the status of your VA claim, you know what stage of the appeals process your claim is in and can help you avoid missing deadlines and better understand how the VA claims and appeals process works. The length of the VA claims and appeals process can vary tremendously based on many factors, including […]
- VA Disability Ratings for Pes Planus (Flat Feet)
Pes Planus, often referred to as flat feet, is a common foot deformity in which the arch of the foot is flattened to the point where it touches, or nearly touches, the ground. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awards disability benefits to veterans with moderate to severe pes planus caused or aggravated by […]