It is perfectly understandable that a veteran that had his or her claim for disability benefits denied may think that the best approach is to start all over with a new claim. This is rarely the case for a couple of very good reasons:
- Number one: If you start from the beginning rather than lodge an appeal of your denial of benefits and then you are subsequently approved, your back pay will only accrue from the date you made your new claim. If you had of hired veterans benefits lawyers in Virginia and appealed the decision and the appeal resulted in approval, your back pay would go to the date of your original claim. By reopening the claim you stand to lose a lot of money.
- Number two: If you request that a claim be reopened after benefits were denied you must show new and material evidence that was not part of the original claim. If you don’t have any “new and material” evidence you are really out of luck.
Deciding on the correct approach; reopening a new claim or appealing, can at times be confusing. As most applicants are not aware of the laws and rules that apply to VA disability claims, this is the time to talk to veterans benefits lawyers in Virginia, these experienced legal professionals can provide advice on which approach is best.
How the VA sees it:
From the VA’s point of view there are only three ways to claim benefits:
- A brand new claim
- A claim for revision due to a clear error made by the VA, and
- A reopened claim that is accompanied by new and material evidence
If your initial claim was denied and you believe you should have been approved for benefits your best bet is to hire veterans benefits lawyers in Virginia and lodge an appeal. The VA even admits they make a lot of errors, often their errors can go in your favor on appeal.
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