Fighting For Veterans
and Disabled Americans
Who Deserve Benefits

Generally, a veteran needs to show that they sustained an injury or contracted a disease during their time in service; that they currently have a disability or disease; and that their current condition is related to their in-service injury or disease — or that their subsequent medical condition was directly caused by their service-connected disability.

For example, a veteran with service-connected knee problems who subsequently developed hip problems may be entitled to service-connected benefits for the hip condition as well.

Generally, yes. For example, if you injured your lower back while playing sports while in service, you would be entitled to service-connected disability if your current disability is related to that in-service sports injury.

Yes. A decision from the Regional Office is the first, not the last, decision within the VA system. You have one year from the date of the Regional Office decision to contest the decision with the VA.

No one is allowed to charge veterans for assisting, consulting, or coaching with filing an initial claim with the VA. Attorneys, including us, charge a contingent fee of 20% of the veteran's past-due benefits. Contingent means you only pay a fee if you win and are awarded past-due benefits by the VA.

However, win or lose, out-of-pocket costs come out of your pocket.

Yes. You can sue the VA in the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Representation before the Court is also contingent. And if you win, your attorney may be entitled to fees paid by the VA — out of their pocket, not yours — pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act.

There is absolutely nothing that prevents you from representing yourself at each and every step. However, like the old joke about a lawyer who represents themselves having a fool for a client — we do not recommend it. Even if you do not retain us, you should retain an experienced and aggressive lawyer to represent you.

No. The Department of Veterans' Affairs is a federal agency, so they have no interest in where an accredited lawyer is licensed. Furthermore, in the modern world, the vast majority of BVA hearings are virtual Zoom hearings — so location is no obstacle.

There is no average — your case will take as long as it takes. We once represented a veteran who survived the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He developed Shell Shock (now called PTSD), applied for VA disability in 1945 upon his discharge, and 40 years later his case was still pending. He retained us for his BVA hearing — and we won, securing a significant award of past-due benefits.

As my father, a World War II combat veteran, said about both the military and the VA: "Hurry up and wait."

Yes. VA benefits are based on an entirely different structure than Social Security Disability Benefits. Excluding TDIU (Total Disability Individual Unemployability), which has its own rules, there are no rules that prevent a 100% schedular-rated disabled veteran from working part or full time.

This is unlike Social Security Disability, where you may lose benefits if you work for more than 9 months in any 36-month period.

The VA calculates your monthly payment based on the degree your disability would impair the average person trying to earn a living wage in the United States. Your individual earning ability is not taken into account.

The VA uses a rating system called the Schedule for Rating Disabilities, which uses only multiples of 10 (10%, 20%, 30%, etc.) to categorize your degree of disability resulting from service-connected injuries.