Our managing attorney, Cullen Elrod, is both an Army & Air Force Veteran with 12 years of combined military service. At Elrod Legal we understand the importance of VA Disability Compensation and want to ensure that you receive your proper rating and benefits.  We have assisted hundreds of Veterans with their VA claims and may be able to help you too!

The Department of Veteran Affairs offers compensation benefits to eligible veterans with current disabilities as a result of their military service.  If you have a disabling condition due to your military service, you could be eligible for monthly compensation.  Unfortunately, upon submitting their applications for benefits many veterans are wrongfully denied disability compensation.

If you have been denied VA disability compensation, Mr. Elrod can help you file an appeal to obtain the benefits you deserve.  Appeals are handled on a contingency basis, meaning we only get paid if you get back pay based on an appeal that we submit for you.

Additionally, Mr. Elrod will help you file your initial claim, file a claim for an increase in an already service-connected condition, or re-open a previously denied claim. The first two case types are pro-bono and any back pay that you receive is wholly yours. This is not common for law firms, but we believe all veterans should have access to the best advocacy available.

Specific Types of Claims Assistance

• New Claim - Filed on a VA Form 21-526EZ, this is a claim for disability benefits that you have never filed before. This form can also be used to request an increase in an already service-connected disability, but not for appeals or previous denials of service-connection.

• Supplemental Claim - Filed on a VA Form 20-0995, this claim must be accompanied by “new & relevant” information that can be used to justify the re-opening of a previously denied claim or any previous VA decision. For example, this claim can be used to request an increase in an existing percentage so long as new and relevant information is included with the claim. This claim is required if you are attempting to re-open a previous denial of service-connection if that decision was issued more than a year ago.

• Higher Level Review - Filed on a VA Form 20-0996, this is a request for an informal conference where you (or your representative) can explain why you are requesting a review of any decision issued within the previous year. For the HLR, you are not allowed to submit additional evidence and the VA will only consider information that was available at the time of the decision in question.

• Request for a formal hearing before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals, or BVA - This is filed on a VA Form 9 or VA Form 10812, depending on the facts of your claim. Ultimately, you will have a formal hearing on the record with an administrative law judge regarding your VA claim.

VBMS - Veteran Benefit Management System

As a VA-accredited attorney, Mr. Elrod has access to the VA’s Veteran Benefit Management System where he can access your records once on file as your representative. No more waiting months for your C-file!

VBMS contains:
- past VA decisions that are NOT otherwise available on eBenefits or VA.gov
- VA Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam results
- Code sheets with the specific codes used by the VA in rating your disability
- detailed medical opinions relied on by the VA in issuing their decision to grant or deny service-connection
- documents otherwise not released without a C-file request, which can take months
- other internal VA documents and communication not otherwise accessible

Contact us to schedule a consultation to see if we can assist with your case.