Veterans Law Articles & Guides
Plain-English answers to the nine questions veterans ask most often: what a lawyer costs, how far back you can get back pay, whether the VA can take your rating away, and what to do about a denial of benefits that is years old.
Each article opens with a short, direct answer. If your question isn’t covered here, call or text (352) 378-9859 — the consultation is free.
How Much Does a VA Disability Lawyer Cost?
Nothing up front. Consultations are free, federal law bars a fee for filing an initial claim, and appeal-stage fees are typically 20% of past-due benefits paid directly by the VA out of your retroactive award.
The VA Denied My Claim Years Ago. Is It Too Late?
Not necessarily. A final VA decision can be revised at any time for clear and unmistakable error (CUE) — and if CUE is established, benefits are paid as though the original decision had been correct, which can mean decades of retroactive compensation.
How Far Back Can VA Disability Back Pay Go?
Usually to your filing date — but file within a year of discharge and it can run from separation, and a successful CUE motion can reach back decades. In our firm’s Baker v. McDonough case, benefits were awarded retroactive to 1992.
Supplemental Claim, Higher-Level Review, or Board Appeal: Which Should I Choose?
It depends on what went wrong. New evidence points to a supplemental claim; a decision made wrong on the existing record points to higher-level review or a Board appeal. You generally have one year to choose.
Can the VA Reduce or Take Away My Disability Rating?
Sometimes — but veterans have more protection than most realize. Ratings held five, ten, and twenty years carry escalating protections, and the VA must give you notice and a hearing before any reduction.
PACT Act Back Pay: Was Your Effective Date Wrong?
Possibly. The PACT Act’s mandated effective date is August 10, 2022, but the VA computed more than 28,000 awards from the veteran’s application date instead — producing reduced past-due benefits. Check the date on your decision letter.
Were Your Military Records Lost in the 1973 NPRC Fire?
Possibly. Roughly 16 to 18 million service files burned near St. Louis in July 1973 — Army veterans discharged 1912–1960 and Air Force veterans discharged 1947–1964 (Hubbard–Z) took the brunt of it. VA streamlined the process in July 2026, and a denial that said your records could not be located is worth a second look.
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