Case Results

The decision in your hand isn’t the last word.

Most of the veterans on this page came to us after a denial, a lowball rating, or years of back pay VA quietly skipped. Some had already given up once. None of them had a case VA thought was worth paying.

Here’s what happened when someone finally believed them and knew how to take the fight to VA.

VA says it isn’t service connected

This is the denial that sends the most veterans home for good. The letter says your condition isn’t related to service, or the evidence isn’t there, and it reads like a verdict. It isn’t. It usually means nobody connected the dots for the rater.

We go back to the service records, get the medical opinion VA didn’t, and put the whole picture in front of the decision maker, at the Regional Office, the Board, or the Court if that’s what it takes.

  • $77,147.45
    Multiple conditions connected across two decisions, reaching 100%

    Multiple service-connected conditions across two decisions; combined rating reached 100%.

  • $60,402.78
    PTSD, back, knee, and radiculopathy connected; 80% combined

    Service connection for multiple conditions, including PTSD, back and knee disabilities, and radiculopathy; 80% combined rating.

  • $47,292.15
    PTSD and back connected, with benefits effective August 2022

    PTSD and back-condition awards, including benefits effective August 2022; 50% combined rating.

  • $31,285.69
    Sleep apnea connected: 90% to 100%

    Service connection for sleep apnea; combined rating increased from 90% to 100%.

Holding a denial like this? Send us the decision letter and we’ll tell you what we see.

You’re rated, but too low

You got something, so it feels ungrateful to push. But VA’s math is built on the exam it ordered, and a twenty-minute C&P appointment doesn’t capture a bad back on a bad day, or what your knees do to the rest of your body.

A rating increase isn’t an argument about fairness. It’s an argument about criteria, and it’s won with the right evidence lined up against the right diagnostic code.

  • $98,448.18
    Shoulder and both knees: 40% to 60%

    Shoulder and bilateral knee disabilities; combined rating increased from 40% to 60%.

  • $63,966.71
    Degenerative disc disease and radiculopathy in both legs, reaching 90%

    Awards including degenerative disc disease and bilateral leg radiculopathy; combined rating ultimately reached 90%.

  • $54,553.60
    Orthopedic and neurological conditions: 90% to 100%

    Multiple orthopedic and neurological disabilities; combined rating increased from 90% to 100%.

  • $32,639.29
    Both shoulders and both knees: 80% to 100%

    Bilateral shoulder and knee disability awards; combined rating increased from 80% to 100%.

Think your rating undersells it? Run the numbers, then talk to us.

You can’t hold a job

Your rating says 70%. Your life says you haven’t worked a full year since you got out. Those two facts don’t have to stay in conflict. Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100% rate when your service-connected conditions keep you from substantially gainful work.

VA rarely offers TDIU on its own. It has to be claimed, and then proved, with work history, medical evidence, and often a vocational opinion.

  • $53,622.08
    TDIU, PTSD and migraine increases, and an earlier date on a shoulder

    Multiple disability awards, PTSD and migraine increases, TDIU, and an earlier effective date for a shoulder disability.

  • $41,080.44
    Depression rating increased, then TDIU at the 100% rate

    Increased major depressive disorder rating followed by TDIU, providing compensation at the 100% rate.

If your conditions ended your working life, let’s talk about TDIU.

They owe you for the years they skipped

A grant can still shortchange you. If VA picks the wrong effective date, every month between the day you were entitled and the day they finally paid is money you’re owed and won’t see unless someone argues for it.

Effective date cases are won on procedure: what was filed, when, and what VA did or didn’t do with it. It’s detail work, and it’s where a lot of back pay lives.

  • $30,950.42
    Effective date moved back to August 2023 at 70%

    Earlier effective date reaching back to August 2023, with the existing 70% rating maintained.

Got a grant with a date that feels late? We’ll check the timeline.

You’re at 100% and still owed more

Plenty of veterans stop at 100% because they think it’s the ceiling. It isn’t. Special Monthly Compensation exists for veterans whose disabilities go beyond what the rating schedule measures, and the difference between 100% and SMC can be hundreds of dollars a month, for life.

VA almost never raises it unprompted. We do.

  • $186,001.95
    100% permanent and total, plus SMC-M and dependent benefits

    100% permanent and total disability, additional dependent benefits, and increased special monthly compensation to SMC-M.

Already at 100%? Ask us whether SMC applies.

How a case ends up on this page

None of these veterans walked in with a case VA wanted to pay. They walked in with a story VA hadn’t believed. Three things happened next.

  1. We believed you

    You’ve spent years trying to prove something you already know is true. We don’t ask you to prove it to us. We ask what happened, and then we go get the evidence that makes VA accept it.

  2. We know how VA fights, and where it fails

    We’ve stood on your side of this system, and we’ve spent years on the other side of the table from it. We know the manual the rater follows, the shortcuts the exams take, and the standards VA applies wrong. That’s where these cases were won.

  3. We don’t back down

    Regional Office, Board of Veterans’ Appeals, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. We’re accredited at every level, and the case stays with the attorney who knows it, no matter how far VA makes us take it.

Amounts are total recorded awards before attorney fees and applicable costs, and combine all awards recorded for each veteran, including smaller awards within the same matter. Every case turns on its own facts, evidence, and procedural history. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Your decision letter is the starting point, not the ending.

Send it over. An attorney reads it and tells you straight what we see and whether we can help. No fee for the review.

Get a free case review