If you have sustained an injury related to active combat that has resulted in a disability and the disability is getting worse as time passes or if you think your injury is going to result in other health complications over time, you are eligible to seek an increase in your disability rating through veterans affairs.
Appealing for your Claims vs. Filing a New Disability Rating Claim
It is important to understand that appealing won’t necessarily help you as you won’t have a long window to dispute the disability rating you are given. You will have to immediately appeal the decision in the hopes of getting a better decision.
However, when you file a claim for renowned disability benefits via an increase in your disability rating, the veteran’s affairs department may either deny the claim or grant it. But if it is granted it is still likely that you will not get your desired level of rating.
As per the changes in the VA’s legacy disability appeal process, which essentially files and processes claims before 2019, veterans are given a maximum of one year to file a “Notice of Disagreement” and offer new evidence supporting their worsening medical condition because of the combat injury.
According to the AMA (Appeals Modernization Act), veterans are given two assessment options they can select from, a higher-level review and a supplemental claim. A supplemental claim permits the veteran to file new evidence that they could not present when first filing for the claim. A higher-level review involves submitting your original claim but under the purview of a senior specialist.