Social Security Disability & SSI

Appealing a Veteran's Disability Case

Did you know that qualifying disabled veterans can receive both Social Security disability benefits as well as VA disability benefits? Many veterans who receive Social Security benefits as a result of service-related disabilities have either never filed a VA claim, or more often, have been denied by the VA so many times that they have given up. If you have a valid claim for VA disability or survivor’s benefits, don’t give up.

Do you need an attorney to help with your VA claim or appeal? It depends. For many years, and for many outdated reasons, the VA has restricted veterans’ rights to hire an attorney to represent them before the VA. Veterans or their surviving spouses may not hire legal representation until after they file a claim and receive a decision. And even then, other requirements must be met.

Attorneys can step in at any time in the process after a VA regional office (RO) rating decision if that decision was appealed on or after June 20, 2007. If you have a rating decision from any RO (or from the Appeals Management Center), you have one year from the date of the decision’s notice letter to file an appeal by sending in a Notice of Disagreement (NOD). An attorney can help you with your NOD.

If you have a denial from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) in Washington, D.C., you have only 120 days (about 4 months) to file an appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (CAVC). An attorney can represent you on appeal to the CAVC no matter when the prior NOD was filed. If you have a decision from the BVA which only remands your claims back to the RO, then you may or may not be able to hire an attorney, depending on the timeline.

What issues can you appeal? You can appeal not only denials of service connection, but also other findings you do not agree with, such as the disability percentage rating or the effective date of back benefits.

If you are an unemployed veteran with service-connected disabilities, you may want to make sure the VA is compensating you appropriately. And, whether you are working or not, if you are planning to file a VA claim, or are dissatisfied with your VA rating (or lack thereof), don’t give up. If you have a question about whether you can appeal a veteran’s disability decision please call Jill Mitchell, the Veteran’s Disability lawyer at Heard & Smith.

For more information on our attorneys, please visit Our Attorneys page.

For more information on Social Security Disability, please see:

Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) FAQs
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) FAQs
Social Security Disability Links
Social Security Glossary

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