How To Choose A Lawyer For A Denied VA Disability Appeal

As we all know, the Veterans Administration exists to help veterans access some of the services and benefits that they have gained during the time they have spent in military. There are a lot of services that fall under the jurisdiction of this department and they are aimed towards making sure that veterans get the healthcare and education they deserve, as well as to get the disability benefits that are connected to injuries they suffered during time served. The latter benefit consists of tax-free monthly payments for veterans who were injured or have developed certain medical conditions as a consequence of serving in the military.

You can learn more about it here: https://www.va.gov/disability/

This all sounds nice and easy in theory, but things can get rather complicated in practice, leading to a lot of veterans being unable to get the disability claims they deserve. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) doesn’t always approve those claims, meaning that veterans are left with only two options on their hands. They can either give the whole thing up or file a VA disability appeal. As much as we don’t want to admit it, this happens more often than not, meaning that the appeals are usually the only way for veterans to get the compensation they deserve.

There is another catch, though. As a veteran, you are probably not that well-versed in the matters of law, meaning that your appeal might easily get rejected if you don’t do things the right way. You are far more likely to succeed if you have a lawyer on your side. Of course, you will have to find a lawyer who is actually willing to fight for you and your rights, instead of someone who just wants to get it all over with and charge you a fee.

Finding a great lawyer can get really tricky, especially if you previously had no experience with these professionals. There are a lot of attorneys out there and all of them will probably claim to be the best at what they do, but it’s only logical that not everyone can do a perfect job. And, since this is your future we are talking about, you definitely want the job to be perfectly done. Of course, you might not even be aware that you should hire a lawyer in certain instances, which is why you should get some additional info about when it is actually time to get legal help and finally get the compensation that you have rightfully earned. Learn about more veterans disability benefits.

Since you probably already have a lot on your plate, you might be in a rush to find yourself a lawyer as soon as possible, but I have to warn you against rushing into a decision like that. Taking your time to find the right person is a much better option. If you aren’t sure about how you can actually find the right person, let me give you a few tips and try to make that decision a bit easier for you.

Look For Experience

You probably already knew that you need a lawyer who is experienced enough in his or her line of work and who knows how to offer proper legal representation. Yet, that’s not exactly the only experience I am talking about. Since you are dealing with the VA here, you need to find an attorney who has had enough experience dealing with this department. The best thing would be to find an expert who has done and won their fair share of disability appeals. That’s the how you will make sure that you are getting proper legal representation and that’s how you will significantly increase your chances of winning the appeal.

Don’t Forget To Check Reputation

Lawyers depend on reputation, don’t they? If you come across a legal representative and then you end up finding out that they aren’t exactly esteemed in their own community, you will definitely get suspicious of paying for the services of such a person. It should go without saying that you need someone whose reputation is up to par, because that way you will be more confident that you will win the appeal and get the disability compensation that you deserve.

How can you, however, check the reputation of these professionals? The right thing to do is ask the people in your area if they have heard about a particular lawyer. If you know some veterans who have already gone through a denied VA disability appeal, you should talk to them and inquire not only about the lawyer you have in mind, but also about the one that they hired in their time of need. In addition to that, try to find some online ratings and reviews. All of that will help you determine the reputation of particular professionals and decide whether you should work with them or not.

Take Note Of Communication

By now, you should be ready to get in touch with a few experts from this field. Think of these initial conversations as of interviews. You are trying to find as much as possible about specific lawyers, so that you can later decide whether you want to hire them. During those conversations, don’t forget to take note of how you two are actually communicating. If you find that the attorney isn’t paying much attention to what you have to say and that they aren’t giving you honest and direct feedback about your particular case, you should move on and look further.

Compare Fees

We all know that lawyers earn a lot and that their fees aren’t exactly low. This, however, doesn’t mean that you should just settle for the first high fee you come across, without first making some comparisons. Attorneys definitely deserve every single penny they earn while fighting for you, but you don’t want to end up paying too high a price for poor services. In order not to let that happen, your task is to find highly qualified individuals offering their services at reasonable prices.