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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

Illinois VA Medical Centers

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.

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