Fort Worth Veterans Disability Lawyer

Are you a Fort Worth veteran filing or appealing a VA disability claim?

At Glover Luck LLP, veterans benefits law is the only work we do, and we carry claims from the first filing through federal court.

If the VA denied your claim, delayed it, or assigned a rating that does not reflect what you live with, each of those outcomes can be challenged. Our Fort Worth, TX veterans disability lawyer reviews the claims file, identifies the conditions and theories the record supports, and pursues the appropriate review at whichever stage the case has reached. Glover Luck LLP has represented veterans and their families since 2014. Consultations are provided at no cost.

Veterans Disability Lawyer Fort Worth, TX

Veterans disability compensation is a monthly payment for conditions incurred in or aggravated by military service. Entitlement rests on a straightforward principle, though the process of proving it rarely feels that way. A veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable is entitled to compensation for disability resulting from injury or disease incurred in the line of duty.

What follows from that principle is a system of rating percentages, evidentiary rules, presumptions, and review options that most veterans encounter for the first time after a denial arrives. Our veterans disability attorneys in Fort Worth work across the whole of that system, because a claim that has stalled at one stage often needs a different theory rather than more of the same evidence.

Types of Veterans Disability Cases We Handle in Fort Worth, TX

Our practice covers the range of conditions and claim types the VA adjudicates, from initial applications to appeals that have already been through more than one review. Some veterans come to us before filing anything. Others arrive with a decade of correspondence and several denials. The matters below reflect the work our Fort Worth attorneys perform.

• Service connected disability. Establishing that a condition was incurred in or aggravated by service is the foundation of nearly every claim. We assess which routes to service connection the record opens.
• Service connection. Direct, secondary, presumptive, and aggravation theories each require different evidence. We develop the record each theory demands.
• VA disability compensation. The assigned percentage determines the monthly award and much of what follows from it. We measure the evaluation against the documented severity.
• VA individual unemployability. Where service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful work, compensation at the total rate may be available even when the combined rating is well below 100%.
• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several evidentiary routes exist for establishing the event underlying a PTSD claim, and the correct route depends on the circumstances of service.
• Mental health disorders claims. Depression, anxiety, and related conditions are evaluated on how far they interfere with work and relationships rather than on diagnosis alone.
• VA TBI. Brain injury residuals are assessed across ten facets, and conditions with their own diagnosis are generally evaluated separately.
• Agent Orange exposure. Conditions associated with herbicide exposure may be presumed service connected for veterans who served in designated locations during designated periods.
• Gulf War Syndrome claims. Undiagnosed illness and chronic multisymptom illness may be compensable without a diagnosis, under a framework built for conditions medicine cannot explain.
• Section 1151 claims. Additional disability caused by VA medical care may be compensated as though it were service connected, on the strength of the treatment record.

Why Choose Glover Luck LLP as My Veterans Disability Lawyer in Fort Worth, TX?

Founders Who Built the Firm Around This Work

Julie L. Glover and Adam R. Luck founded Glover Luck LLP in 2014 after concluding that veterans in this region had few places to bring complicated claims against the agency. Both are accredited by the VA to represent veterans nationwide, both belong to the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, and both are admitted before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Supreme Court of the United States. Julie Glover serves on the board of that organization and previously chaired the Military and Veterans Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Representation at Every Stage of a Claim

A claim can fail at the regional office, at the Board, or on review in federal court, and the argument that succeeds at one stage is frequently not the argument that was made at the last. We handle claims at each of those levels, which means the strategy in an initial filing accounts for what a later appeal may require. Veterans throughout Tarrant County work with our attorneys from the first application through whatever review the case demands. Over more than a decade, our attorneys have helped veterans obtain compensation after an initial denial.

Understanding Veterans Disability Cases

What Are Important Aspects of a Veterans Disability Case?

Nearly every claim is decided on the same underlying questions, whatever the condition at issue.

• Establishing a current diagnosis supported by medical evidence
• Identifying the in-service event, injury, exposure, or qualifying period of service
• Connecting the two by medical evidence, by presumption, or by lay evidence where the rules permit
• Documenting severity against the criteria that govern the condition
• Preserving the earliest effective date the record supports

Character of discharge also matters at the threshold. Compensation requires discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. Where a discharge characterization stands between a veteran and the benefits available, that characterization can itself be challenged.

What Is The Veterans Disability Case Timeline?

Claims proceed on the ordinary VA schedule, and the review options following a decision are what most often determine the eventual outcome.

• An intent to file preserves the effective date while evidence is gathered
• The claim is filed with medical records and evidence of the in-service event
• The VA requests records and schedules an examination where one is needed
• The regional office issues a rating decision
• Within one year of that notice, a veteran may request higher-level review or appeal to the Board

A supplemental claim may be filed at any time after a decision, including after a Board decision or a decision of the federal veterans court. The three review routes differ in what evidence may be considered and how long each takes. Choosing among them is a strategic decision rather than a procedural one.

Ratings, Protections, and Compensation in Veterans Disability Cases

The rating schedule is built on ten grades of disability, from 10% through 100% in ten point increments, and the percentages are intended to reflect average reductions in earning capacity in civil occupations. Compensation is paid monthly at the rate corresponding to the combined evaluation, with additional amounts for dependents.

• Where several conditions are rated, the evaluations are combined rather than added
• A total rating may be available where conditions prevent substantially gainful employment
• Benefits may extend to a surviving spouse, children, and dependent parents through death benefits claims
• Amounts owed but unpaid at a veteran’s death may be pursued through accrued benefits claims

Ratings also acquire protection with time. A condition continuously rated at or above a given evaluation for twenty years or more cannot be reduced below that level except on a showing that the rating was obtained by fraud. A change to the rating schedule is likewise not a ground for reducing an existing rating unless medical evidence establishes actual improvement.

What Should You Bring to Your Veterans Disability Consultation?

A first meeting is more productive when the central records are together. Where they are available, we ask veterans to bring the following:

• The DD-214 and any orders, evaluations, or assignment records
• Service treatment records and records of care received since separation
• Any VA decision letters, rating decisions, or examination reports
• Employment records reflecting absences or changes in duties
• Statements from family members, colleagues, or others who observed changes

We will discuss what the record appears to establish, which theories remain available, and which review option fits the stage the claim has reached.

What Are Important Texas Legal Resources for Veterans Disability Cases?

These claims are governed by federal law, and the governing provisions are published in full. A veteran who wants to read them can begin with the sources below, none of which replaces representation.

• 38 CFR 3.2500 sets out the review options available after a decision and the period within which each must be elected.
• 38 U.S.C. 1110 states the basic entitlement to compensation for disability incurred in the line of duty.
• 38 U.S.C. 1155 directs the Secretary to adopt a rating schedule based on average impairments of earning capacity and provides for ten grades of disability.
• 38 CFR 3.951 preserves a rating continuously held for twenty years or more against reduction absent fraud.
• The universal adjudication rules in Part 3 collect the provisions governing how claims and reviews are processed.

Reach Out to Glover Luck LLP to Schedule a Consultation

A denial reflects the evidence the agency had in front of it, and in many cases the file was never complete. Our Fort Worth veterans disability lawyer can review what the record contains and explain which options remain open. Contact us to arrange a consultation at no cost. Glover Luck LLP represents veterans and their families throughout Tarrant County.