VA Claims in Addition to Your Initial Disability Claim

At Stone Rose Law, our experienced VA disability attorneys help clients with all kinds of additional VA claims (as well as initial claims).

Most veterans’ disability law firms devote most of their time to discussing how to make an initial application for disability benefits to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA).

At Stone Rose Law, our experienced VA disability attorneys help clients with all kinds of additional VA claims (as well as initial claims). We can help you know whether you are eligible to file one, how to file it, the evidence you will need, and, if necessary, how to appeal a denial of your additional claim.

Why Additional VA Claims Can Matter to You

Veterans since the Vietnam conflict live in a different VA benefits claim environment than their forebears from World War II and the Korean conflict. Today, disabled veterans from the conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan face more intensive and often long-term needs for assistance after they leave military service.

Consider:

• Veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts experienced service-connected disabilities at a much higher rate than veterans of past conflicts. According to VA information, the number of individual disability claims it receives has doubled in the past five years .
• The number of veterans claiming multiple disabilities has also increased. In the past 10 years, the VA reports that benefits claims from veterans with eight or more disability claims have doubled.
• The severity of disability ratings the VA awards to disabled veterans has been increasing. Today, almost half of veterans who file supplemental claims already have a VA disability rating of 50 percent or more. This compares to about one-third of veterans from World War II and the Korean conflict.

More Veterans Today Are Eligible for Additional Claims

A significant reason for the substantial increases in the number of veteran disability claims, the number of disabilities in each claim, and their average VA disability rating is simple: advances in military medical care are helping warriors to survive even the most grievous battlefield injuries.

During its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, the U.S. Army reported that more than 90 percent of injured soldiers lived to return home. This is the highest percentage of surviving wounded soldiers in human history.

By comparison, the survival rate for wounded warriors in Vietnam was about 75 percent, which was considered an extraordinary achievement at the time.

Simply put, many veterans today are eligible to collect substantial VA disability benefits because they survived what until relatively recently would have otherwise been fatal injuries.

The disability claims of seriously wounded veterans are significant, and their compensation and other care needs often increase as their disability symptoms worsen with age.

Additional Disability Claims for Veterans Are More Important Than Ever

The VA realizes that disabilities, and especially severe disabilities, often do not remain static.

This is why the VA provides for additional disability claims.

For the rest of this article, we will take a closer look at some of the more common kinds of claims you can make with the VA after your initial benefits claim.

What Kinds of Additional Benefits Claims Exist?

The VA provides for the following kinds of claims in addition to initial claims:

• Claims for increased benefits for an existing service-connected disability (increased claims).
• Claims for additional benefits to the ones you are receiving for an existing service-connected disability (new claims).
• Claims for one or more additional service-connected disabilities linked to a service-connected disability you already have (secondary service-connected claims).
• Claims for additional special benefits needed for your disability (special claims)
• Claims providing additional evidence in support of denied claims (supplemental claims).

Increased Benefits Claims

The two kinds of increased benefits claims we see with our clients are claims for additional financial support for an existing service-connected claim and claims to increase an existing VA disability rating.

New Claims

New claims relate to an existing service-connected disability claim, but seek to add additional benefits to it. Common kinds of new claims are for special monthly payments, or for claims based on unemployability, like Total Disability for Individual Unemployability, or TDIU .

These claims must be supported by new evidence in addition to the evidence you submitted with your initial claim.

Secondary Service-Connected Disability Claims

A secondary service-connected condition is one that was not evident when you made your initial disability benefits claim, but which manifests itself later on and has its origin in your VA-approved disability.

An example of a secondary service-connected disability can be a situation in which you apply for and receive disability benefits for a knee injury, then later on you develop an osteoarthritis diagnosis in the same knee that arose from the initial injury.

Another example is a traumatic head injury initial disability that later leads to symptoms of depression, irritability, or anxiety, which can qualify for a separate disability rating

Special Claims

You can apply for a special claim in addition to your existing service-connected disability in several situations when your existing disability benefits are not enough to cover your costs connected with the disability.

Here are some specific examples of special claims you can apply for:

• Adaptive equipment for your automobile when your disability otherwise would prevent you from being able to drive.
• Benefit payments for time you have to spend in a VA hospital because of your service-connected disability.
• Temporary disability benefits during convalescence after surgery when you are unable to move.
• Sums to pay for clothing when your prosthetic or orthopedic device damages the clothing that you wear with them.
• Dental care benefits through the VA.

Supplemental Claims

A supplemental claim is one you make when the VA denies your initial benefits claim but rather than appealing the denial, you decide to make your claim again by introducing new and relevant evidence for the VA to consider.

Your Supplemental Claim Cannot Be a Contested One

A contested claim is one in which you and another person are both claiming the same benefit, but only one of you can have it. This situation is rare.

What is New and Relevant Evidence?

The VA will only consider a supplemental claim if you give it good reason to. New evidence means you must give the VA information you did not provide with your denied initial application.

In some cases, an alternative to new evidence can be to show that a new law or change to an existing law now supports your supplemental claim. An example of this is the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which adds additional presumptive disability conditions for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, toxic waste burn pits, or other toxic exposures.

Relevant evidence means that your new evidence must be related to your initial claim in a way that proves or disproves something that contributed to the denial of your initial claim. This can be something like new medical treatment records, or an additional statement of support for your claim, also known as a “buddy letter.”

What Happens if the VA Denies My Supplemental Benefits Claim?

If the VA denied your initial claim in a close-call situation, then that’s the reason to make a supplemental claim. If the VA still decides to deny your benefits claim after considering the new and relevant evidence in your supplemental claim, you still have options:

• You can file another supplemental claim, with more new and relevant evidence.
• You can request a higher-level review by the VA.
• You can request a board appeal to have a VA judge consider your application.

Do You Need Help Making an Additional VA Benefits Claim?

It can be easy to get confused about the different kinds of additional claims that might be available to you as a veteran with a service-connected disability. For example, many veterans mix up an increased claim for a supplemental claim or do not know that appealing a denial or making a supplemental claim are exclusive options.

At Stone Rose Law, our VA-accredited disability claims lawyers help veterans like you understand the VA benefits system and navigate it so you receive all the disability benefits you deserve today.

To learn more about how your service-connected disability can qualify you for monthly disability compensation and other VA benefits, see our VA Disability Calculator page.

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