At the last published count, North Carolina is home to 615,440 Veterans, who comprise more than 7% of the state’s total adult population. These Veterans’ service backgrounds allow them to relate to one another’s sacrifices, fond memories, and struggles in civilian life. Another unifying factor among North Carolina’s Veterans is the often frustrating trials of seeking fair disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Our state’s Veterans have, in many cases, faced more hardship than they should have as a result of their service. From the insidious health effects of contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, to impact-related injuries among those who trained or served at Fort Bragg, and widespread hearing loss and tinnitus among Veterans previously assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, we see many state-specific issues for which North Carolinian Veterans deserve considerable VA disability benefits.

The North Carolina VA benefits attorneys at Capovilla & Williams have helped clients find their way through the VA Disability Compensation system many times. Attorney Robert Capovilla is a former JAG, and the significant majority of our attorneys are Veterans. Delivering fair benefits to Veterans throughout North Carolina is personal to us. Call us today at 866-951-0466 or reach out online, and our Veteran-led team will follow up with the next steps.

A Starting Point for Veterans Taking On the VA Disability Benefits System in North Carolina

Here are a few basic points that might spare you time and frustration as a Veteran seeking VA disability benefits in North Carolina:

• The Winston-Salem VA Regional Benefit Office in Forsyth County is the hub for cases like these, as its website states that “Benefits we can help with include disability compensation”
• Wait times for claims processing can vary based on when you file a claim, the complexity of your claim, how thorough your initial claim is, and other variables that we will cover when evaluating your case
• The federal VA, primarily through its Veterans Benefits Administration, will make high-level claims decisions about eligibility, service connection, disability rating, and other matters that directly affect Veterans’ benefits
• The North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NCDMVA) has “an established relationship with the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs,” and we may work with NCDMVA representatives in its stated goal to “maximize all the benefits and resources available” to Veterans.

Put simply, coordinating with the federal VA, NCDMVA, medical professionals, and others frequently involved in the claims process is a tall task. We will handle such coordination while remaining steadfast in our mission to secure all of the VA disability benefits your condition(s) warrant. 

What Are a Few Strategies for Winning the VA Disability Benefits North Carolina Veterans Are Entitled To?

Our attorneys have seen firsthand how the VA Disability Benefits system confuses, frustrates, and too often leaves Veterans without the financial assistance they deserve. We outflank these issues with tailored, pinpoint strategies we have seen produce results time and again, such as:

• Establishing a presumptive condition (perhaps under the PACT Act): Veterans who qualify as having a presumptive condition do not have to prove a nexus between their military service and the condition for which they are seeking benefits. Eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune qualified as presumptive conditions (as of 2017). The PACT Act (passed in 2022) designated 20 more presumptive conditions, including those related to Agent Orange, burn pits, radiation, and other conditions, which may or may not overlap with toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
• Seeking independent medical opinions (IMOs): We may leverage many of North Carolina’s premier medical providers to counter an unfavorable Compensation & Pension (C&P) examination result. Our independent provider may need to prove that your condition is “at least as likely as not” related to your service. The IMO may cite your medical records, current condition (evaluated during an examination), service activities, and various other data points to establish the nexus to service.
• Highlighting secondary conditions triggered or exacerbated by a service-connected disability: The Code of Federal Regulations explains that, for our purposes, “When service connection is thus established for a secondary condition, the secondary condition shall be considered a part of the original condition.” Medical providers’ opinions may help us prove that such secondary conditions are “proximately due to or the result of” a service-connected condition, thereby enabling us to include the secondary condition(s) in your claim(s).
• Creating a compelling timeline with lay evidence: Lay evidence, such as a Veteran’s testimony about injurious events during their service or family members’ observations of disability-related struggles the Veteran has endured, can contextualize, augment, and even corroborate medical opinions and other more technical offerings. 

Many Veterans can’t work a steady job, but their schedular rating may only be 70% or 80%. A schedular rating is one assigned under the VA’s Schedule for Rating Disabilities, with the disability rating reflecting the severity of your condition(s). However, if we can prove that your conditions prevent you from engaging in substantially gainful employment, you may qualify for Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) and receive benefits as if you had a schedular rating of 100%.

How Can We Leverage the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) to Fight for Veterans Beyond the Initial Claim Decision?

This Act affords Veterans seeking VA disability benefits three methods of appeal:

1. Higher-Level Review (HLR): This is a “new review of your case by a higher-level reviewer.” We must pursue this appeal channel no more than one year after the issuance of your initial claim or supplemental claim decision. Your claim cannot be presently contested, and you cannot have new evidence to submit to be eligible for HLR.
2. Supplemental Claim: You may be eligible to file a supplemental claim if you have “new and relevant evidence” or a relevant change in the law has occurred. You must also have already received an initial claim decision, and the claim cannot be presently contested.
3. Board Appeal: The “Board” that hears this kind of appeal is a Veterans Law Judge at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. There are three subcategories of Board Appeal, which are Direct Review, Evidence Submission, and Hearing. Should we seriously consider this strategy, we will identify the subcategory that best suits your circumstances and claim.

The VA explains that Veterans can request a Board Appeal even after pursuing a Supplemental Claim or Higher-Level Review that did not produce a satisfactory outcome. This opportunity will likely shape our appeal strategy, should your claims process require us to pursue one or more of these appeal options.

What Is the Importance of Effective Dates for Veterans Who Deserve Backpay?

One important aspect of many claims we handle is retroactive benefits, sometimes referred to as “backpay.” Here are some of the most important points to know about effective dates and backpay:

• Once the VA decides it will pay a claim, it assigns an effective date to that claim
• The effective date is “the day you can start getting your disability benefits,” and for some claimants that is a present or future date

The VA may identify the effective date of a claim as either:

1. The date the VA “got” your claim
2. The date that the service-connected injury or illness first emerged (also known as “the date your entitlement arose”)

If the VA acknowledges a service connection, in most cases, “the effective date is the date you first got your illness or injury.”

Keep in mind that, even if the VA previously denied or undervalued your disability benefits, a successful appeal can effectively reverse those decisions.

This is where the effective date becomes critical: Once the VA acknowledges (through appeal) that it erred in its initial decision, you should receive backpay dating back to the date your illness or injury arose (rather than the date that your appeal succeeded and the VA finally acknowledged your entitlement to fair benefits).

Questions We Hear Often from North Carolina Veterans Seeking Fair VA Disability Benefits 

Essentially, Veterans come to us looking for answers. They want the benefits they are often deserving of, but they also want to know:

I Never Reported Pain I Was Experiencing as a Paratrooper at Fort Bragg, Can I Still Receive VA Disability Benefits?

It is very possible. We may furnish lay evidence from those with whom you may have discussed symptoms during your service (or after), and also establish a strong medical case that your activities as a paratrooper likely caused or contributed to the symptoms you now experience.

I Do Not Live Near the Winston-Salem VA Regional Benefit Office. Is This a Problem?

No. Our North Carolina VA disability benefits lawyers will handle as many of the administrative procedures as possible for you. Furthermore, the VA recognizes that Veterans live in every corner of the state, and its administrative systems reflect that not everyone can show up at the Winston-Salem VA Regional Benefit Office in person.

Where Do I Get a VA Compensation & Pension (C&P) Exam in North Carolina?

Though you may not necessarily undergo a C&P Examination at one of these facilities, there are VA-affiliated medical facilities in:

• Asheville
• Durham
• Fayetteville
• Raleigh
• Salisbury

We may also identify a provider who contracts with the VA to perform C&P exams at a location near you.

We will also work to make any examinations related to an independent medical examination (IME) as convenient as possible for you.

Fighting for Veterans’ VA Disability Benefits Throughout North Carolina: Contact Capovilla & Williams Today

Veterans, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and other Service Members who may be eligible for VA disability benefits far too often find that securing benefits is far more difficult than anticipated.

Fair is fair, and you deserve fair benefits based on your injury or illness, as well as the realities of your service that contributed to such injury or illness. It’s our job at Capovilla & Williams to lead Veterans through the VA Disability Benefits gauntlet, and it is a gauntlet we have conquered many times before. 

If you or a loved one wants to seek or increase VA disability benefits in North Carolina, call Capovilla & Williams today at 866-951-0466 or reach out online to formulate a personalized plan of action.

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