Fayetteville VA Disability Lawyer
Disability Benefits for Veterans
If you’ve suffered a service-related injury or illness resulting from your time in the service of your country in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Reserves, you may be entitled to VA disability benefits, and a VA disability lawyer at Riddle & Brantley may be able to help you get them.
For more than three decades, our attorneys have served those who have served our country. We have close ties to the military in North Carolina. A VA disability lawyer at Riddle & Brantley would love to help you if we can.
For a FREE consultation with a veterans’ benefits lawyer, please call (910) 387-9186 or complete the short form below.
The consultation is free, there is no obligation, and you’ll only pay attorney fees if we win your case and successfully obtain VA disability benefits for you.
Please call (910) 387-9186 to speak with an experienced VA disability attorney today.
Thank you for your service. We would love to help you get the justice and benefits you deserve and the VA says you are entitled to receive.
We have offices in Fayetteville (in-person consultations by appointment only), Raleigh, Jacksonville, and several other North Carolina cities. We can consult with you from anywhere by phone, email, text, or video conference, and we’ll even come to you if it’s more convenient.
Justice for Veterans
Fayetteville is home to the largest military base in the United States, Fort Bragg, with more than 50,000 active-duty military personnel. Fort Bragg is home to the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, and is also the headquarters for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, overseeing the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne). U.S. Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Commands are also headquartered at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville NC.
Riddle & Brantley’s VA disability lawyers have been serving veterans in the area and throughout North Carolina since 2011 (attorneys have only been allowed to represent veterans in VA disability appeals since 2007).
We’re proud to serve our nation’s veterans and are humbled by the words our deserving clients use to describe their experience working with our attorneys:
“By far the best law firm that actually cares about helping veterans.”
-B.F., Riddle & Brantley client
Riddle & Brantley is based in nearby Goldsboro, home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and many of our attorneys and staff have close family ties to the military. Our North Carolina VA disability lawyers serve veterans throughout North Carolina, including those who have served at Fort Bragg, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, Cherry Point Air Station in Havelock, and Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville.
For a FREE consultation with an experienced veterans’ benefits lawyer, please call Riddle & Brantley at (910) 387-9186 today.
There is absolutely no obligation and if you decide to hire us you’ll pay nothing up front and will only pay attorney fees if we obtain VA disability benefits for you.
Call (910) 387-9186 today and let’s discuss your case.
If you’ve served our country, suffered a service-related injury or illness and been honorably (or generally) discharged, you may be entitled to veterans’ benefits and we may be able to help.
Justice Counts for North Carolinians who have served their country.
“I’ve Been Denied VA Disability Benefits. Now What?”
Roughly 30 percent of all VA disability applications are denied. If you’ve been denied, don’t be discouraged. There may still be an opportunity to appeal or file a new claim.
The National Center for Policy Analysis has estimated that of the 30 percent of cases that are denied by the VA, approximately 60 percent of those denials are based on errors. The VA is very good at delivering care for their patients; they are not as good on the administrative side of making sure veterans receive the proper amount of VA disability benefits. A VA disability lawyer at Riddle & Brantley can help you navigate the bureaucracy of their disability claims system and obtain the benefits you qualify for.
A VA disability benefits attorney can help evaluate your case and determine the best legal path for pursuing VA disability benefits for you.
For a FREE, no-obligation consultation with a VA disability lawyer, please call (910) 387-9186.
Our team would love to help however we can.
Please call (910) 387-9186 and let’s review your case today. Those who have served our country deserve justice and the benefits they are entitled to.
You don’t have to do this alone.
How Does Applying for VA Disability Work?
In order to obtain a favorable decision and receive veterans’ disability benefits, you have to make a strong case to the VA, based on your service records, medical records, “buddy” statements, and supportive letters from family and friends.
IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR VA DISABILITY, YOU MUST:
- Have served in active duty OR active duty for training OR inactive duty for training
- Have received a discharge other than dishonorable; a general discharge is OK
- Have been at least partially disabled by an injury or disease suffered or made worse while in military service, and continue to suffer from the effects of that disease, injury, or condition
Differences Between Social Security Disability and Veterans’ Disability
The VA disability system is much different than the Social Security Disability system. With the SSA, it’s an “all or nothing” proposition; you are either totally disabled from working and entitled to benefits, or not disabled and not entitled to ANY benefits. And if the SSA finds you disabled, your benefit level is either set in relation to your income and wealth level (for SSI) or on how much you paid into the SSA system while working (for SSDI).
The VA system is different; it allows for the payment of PARTIAL benefits if you have service-connected mental or physical health problems that keep you from functioning fully. For instance, many veterans suffer from chronic tinnitus and/or hearing loss caused by exposure to artillery fire or other loud noises. The VA typically assigns such veterans a 10% rating and pays benefits based on that rating even if they are otherwise unaffected by their time in service. A veteran’s rating can be anything from a 10% rating like that up to a finding of 100% and a total inability to work. And the monthly benefit can be anywhere from $144.14/month to well over $3,000/month depending on the extent of the veteran’s disabilities.
Attorneys and VA Disability Claims / Appeals
Here’s another difference between the VA Disability system and the Social Security Administration: under current law, attorneys cannot charge a fee for representing veterans in their initial claim for VA disability benefits. The lawyer can only charge you a fee for representation in your challenge to a VA decision you think was incorrect. Under SSA rules, lawyers can and do assist disabled folks with the initial application they file for benefits and charge a fee for those services. The VA takes the position that their disability rating system is designed to help the veteran and give him or her the benefit of the doubt if their claim is a close call. They will not authorize the payment of an attorney fee at this first step in their system.
However, if the rating the VA assigns you after they review all of your records does not fully and fairly take into account all of the impairments and problems arising out of your time in service, then you can hire a lawyer to help you challenge that rating and increase your level of benefits.
And remember, we have explained in other posts how you can qualify for BOTH VA Disability AND Social Security Disability benefits, if you qualify under both programs. If you do, neither program offsets benefits received from the other; you can receive FULL benefits from BOTH programs at the same time.
Certain other criteria apply. Talk with an experienced VA disability lawyer to learn more about your options for pursuing benefits. Please call (910) 387-9186 today.
That’s not all, however.
IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR VA DISABILITY BENEFITS, YOU MUST DEMONSTRATE:
- Medical evidence of your disability, usually starting with the report from your compensation and pension examination, also known as a C&P exam or a VA claim exam, which the VA schedule for you, at no cost, to help determine the severity of your symptoms; and
- Evidence that your disability was caused by injury or illness incurred in the course of your military service, or what is commonly called “service connection.”
VA Disability Ratings
Your “VA disability rating” — in percentage increments such as “70%,” “80%,” etc. — is then assigned by the VA after the nature and severity of your conditions as well as service connection are established. It is used to calculate the amount of your monthly payments.
If you already have a VA Rating but you do not think it fully and fairly represents your level of impairment, a veterans’ benefits lawyer at Riddle & Brantley can help you seek an increase in that rating. There is a HUGE difference in the compensation rate between a 70% rating (around $1,450/mo.) and a 100% rating with a finding of “individual unemployability” (around $3,100/mo.). We represent many veterans who seek, and obtain, increases in their ratings that results in payments hundreds of dollars higher than they had been receiving.
We also represent veterans whose ratings are retroactively increased, when past medical records show that their impairments have been more severe than their rating for longer periods of time.
IMPORTANT: Your injury does not have to occur on the battlefield or in active combat in order to qualify you for VA disability payments. For example, if you were injured in a softball game occurring on a military base, you may still be eligible for benefits.
A VA disability lawyer can help determine the best possible path to pursue benefits based on the facts and circumstances of your case.
For a FREE consultation and case review, please call (910) 387-9186 or complete the fast and easy form below.
There are no upfront costs and no attorney fees unless we win your case — and you receive the disability payments from the VA that you need and deserve.
VA Disability Lawyers Serving Our Heroes
North Carolina is home to some of our military’s finest. The VA disability attorneys at Riddle & Brantley are honored to serve those who have served our country on our behalf.
Our team can also assist with Social Security disability claims, as well. We represent veterans at hearings conducted by phone, by videoconference, and in person at the VA Hearing Office in Winston-Salem. We have the training and experience to walk with you through the VA’s time-consuming and complex system of disability conference, no matter how long it takes (and it sometimes takes years).
“It’s an honor to serve those who have served our country. We’re ready to help however we can.”
If you’ve suffered disability as a result of a service-related injury or illness, you may be entitled to VA disability benefits. To speak with a veterans benefits lawyer, please call (910) 387-9186.
There are no upfront costs and no attorney fees unless we win your case and you receive the VA disability benefits you need and deserve.
Call (910) 387-9186 and let’s discuss your case for veterans’ benefits.
Justice Counts for our North Carolina veterans.