Win Your VA Claim Appeal With New Evidence

If you lost your veterans disability claim at the Regional Office level, there is a good chance you were missing a key piece of evidence that was necessary for VA to grant your claim. After you have gone through the Notice of Disagreement process at the Regional Office, you then can file a Form 9 substantive appeal to take your appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA).

What I see far too often are veterans not taking advantage of the opportunity they have at that point to submit additional new evidence that will strengthen their claim.  If you know the law and use it to your advantage, you can make it more likely that you will win your VA claim appeal for disability compensation at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals.

evidence for VA claim appeal
Missing evidence can be key.

Use the VA’s Process to Your Advantage

I am not sure why more veterans don’t take advantage of this opportunity to add helpful evidence.  I think it is because many veterans don’t realize that VA’s processes are different in many ways than other court systems are with regard to new evidence on appeals.

In most types of legal actions, if you lose your case and appeal you cannot submit new evidence during the course of that appeal. The appeals court is only reviewing the case to see if the lower court judge got it right based on the evidence presented.  Even if you have a new witness or find out the other side was lying, you cannot bring that up on appeal because “the record is closed.”  That is another way of saying that the time for evidence has ended.

The good news is that the VA claim appeal process works totally differently.  When you appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, you can, and probably should, gather and submit new evidence that supports your claim.

Use New Evidence

The important thing to keep in mind here is that VA has some very powerful rules that can be used to your advantage in the appeals process. You need to recognize these and take advantage when possible.

Too many veterans get caught in the trap of thinking that the VA denied their claim simply because they do not like them or that they are overworked. While those things may be true, it is your job, or that of you and your representative/attorney:

  • to understand what evidence is needed,
  • to recognize you have the opportunity to submit that evidence,
  • and to provide it in time so that it can be considered with your appeal.

Hopefully, that will result in a grant of your claim. Even if the BVA does not grant the claim outright, they may at least remand it to the Regional Office for further development of one or more issues now that there is at least a way the claim may eventually be granted.

Get Help with Identifying Critical Evidence for Your VA Claim Appeal

If your claim is headed to the BVA at this point, it might be a good idea to consult with an attorney who is experienced in VA appeals to help you through that process. That attorney can help you determine what evidence was missing when the claim was denied.  The attorney can also help to gather that evidence, whether it is in the form of a medical opinion, a buddy statement, medical records, or service records.

We had a BVA hearing recently where we were able to do just that.  Our client had been denied service connection for PTSD because he had no evidence of a PTSD diagnosis.  We were able to get a medical opinion diagnosing him with PTSD and relating it to his military service.  Without this new evidence on appeal, his PTSD claim would likely have been denied.

There are strict deadlines on submitting new evidence in a VA claim appeal, but these rules can be used to your advantage if known and acted upon. If you would like to consult with one of our VA accredited attorneys, you can reach out to us on this website or give us a call for a free consultation. We will be glad to see what we can do to help you with your claim.

Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims.  He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families.

You can subscribe to his Veterans Disability channel on YouTube.

Rita BarnesRita Barnes
00:03 20 Jan 22
This is a great group of people who really care about your well being. They all treated me as though I was family and helped me with my work comp case in more ways than the average would have.Thank you Jason and Thank you Tina! For doing an awesome job.
Cortex ButlerCortex Butler
18:09 29 Dec 21
I am a Veteran of United States Air Force and was awarded my first 30% in 1996 and have been fighting for my rating for 26 years I came to Perkins and Studdard in 2019 while my mom was in a terrible incident and was given to much anesthesia and through GODS Grace she was spared her life, She is disabled since 2018 and I have been struggling with my life and issues and yet I didn’t call the law firm every 10 minutes or call being rude anytime, I mentioned this as I got to know Jessica more than just a phone call and Mr Studdard was always available when not working on other cases or in court, They always called back and Never had to do a call back, My Review is Simple in Life there peaks and valleys and it doesn’t stop because you have issues, Perkins & Studdard took my case in 2019 in 2021 I received my 100% from VA, I Was Never Rude, I was Never Promised Success, I Was Never Lied too and I was Always Treated with Respect, Friendliness, and Kindness the Real Stuff not a (Money Thing) If You want a firm that Cares about the Client and will work on your case even through a pandemic, Will not lie, will not promise anything will communicate your case and will Give you their Best ALWAYS THIS IS THE Best Law Firm for VETS HANDS DOWN Perkins and Studdard THERE IS NO OTHER 100% we had 5 calls Total Case That’s Taking Care Of Business
annetteMomma nokesannetteMomma nokes
14:29 12 Sep 16
Jason and his paralegal Lisa were on point and on top of their game when it came to handling my worker's comp. injury case. I tried going it alone and the insurance carrier pushed me around. They denied extra physical therapy. They denied injections the doctor recommended to ease my pain. When I turned my case over to Jason things turned around, QUICK. They were at all times attentive and on top of my case. I cannot recommend Jason and his staff enough. If you are hurt at work, this is the firm you want on YOUR side.
Sheila KirklinSheila Kirklin
23:11 12 May 16
Jason Perkins, was my lawyer in a workers comp. case, my case has settled now, and I am very happy for all Jason and his office hard work on my case, he was always there to help me out with any questions that I had or help I needed. Jason is a excellent lawyer and if I ever need another one I would only go to Perkins,Because I believe they would be able to help me in any situation I am in need of..
Anna PabonAnna Pabon
23:16 13 Sep 15
I recommend Perkins Law Firm. Everyone I came in contact with there was very nice. Kim was very helpful and any time I had a question she made sure I got an answer. Ann Margaret really took the time to explain things to me.
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