A denial letter is not a verdict on whether you were hurt serving. It is usually a verdict on whether your file contained one specific document. Jose Robles Jr served nearly 15 years in the Air Force with four combat tours, and now works as a San Antonio VA disability lawyer helping veterans challenge denied claims and low disability ratings.
A San Antonio VA disability lawyer helps veterans challenge a denied or underrated claim through one of three review options the VA offers. Federal rules bar any attorney fee before the VA's initial decision, and afterward a fee up to 20 percent of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable. Only VA-accredited representatives may charge fees.
Three, and picking the wrong one costs months. The VA replaced its old appeal path with a Supplemental Claim, a Higher-Level Review, and a Board Appeal.
Each carries a one-year window from the decision. The choice is not about which sounds strongest, it is about what is actually missing from your file.
The three ways to challenge a VA decision.
Supplemental Claim
For when you have new and relevant evidence the VA has not seen, such as a nexus opinion, a private examination, or newly located service records. VA's duty to assist applies.
Higher-Level Review
For when the evidence was already sufficient and the VA got it wrong. A more senior reviewer looks at the same record. No new evidence may be submitted, so this lane is a mistake when your file is thin.
Board Appeal
To the Board of Veterans' Appeals, with three sub-options: direct review on the existing record, submission of additional evidence, or a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. Wait times vary sharply between them.
The most common avoidable mistake is filing a Higher-Level Review when the real problem is a missing medical nexus opinion. That lane forbids new evidence, so a veteran whose file lacks the one document it needed waits months for a senior reviewer to look at the same insufficient record and reach the same conclusion.
Usually not because the VA doubts you served or that you are ill. It is the nexus: the medical link between a current diagnosis and something that happened in service.
A veterans disability claim generally needs three things: a current diagnosis, an in-service event, injury, or illness, and a medical opinion tying it to military service. Veterans routinely have the first two thoroughly documented and lose on the third.
The second recurring problem is the examination itself. A compensation and pension examination that was rushed, performed by someone unfamiliar with the condition, or that failed to address the specific rating criteria can produce a decision that is wrong on the medicine rather than the law. An inadequate exam is a challengeable defect, not something a veteran simply has to accept.
Your disability rating is the third area. A claim can be granted and still be wrong if the assigned percentage does not match the criteria in the rating schedule, or if the effective date is later than the evidence supports. Both are appealable. Both are frequently left uncontested because the letter read like a win.
The percentage is not a formality. It sets your monthly compensation for as long as the rating stands, so an underrated decision quietly costs a veteran every month it goes unchallenged."
Far less freedom than in an ordinary case, because federal regulation controls it. No fee at all is permitted before the VA issues its initial decision.
How VA rules limit what a representative can charge.
Before the first decision
An accredited attorney may not charge a fee for work done before you are notified of the agency of original jurisdiction's initial decision on the claim. Initial claims are generally filed with free help from an accredited VSO representative.
After the initial decision
Once that decision is issued, an accredited attorney may charge a fee for representation in challenging it.
How much
Fees must be reasonable. An agreement not exceeding 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded is presumed reasonable under VA rules, and is typically contingent on winning.
Who may charge
Only VA-accredited attorneys and agents may receive fees for representing claimants. Always confirm accreditation before signing anything.
Two practical consequences follow. First, if you have not yet filed an initial claim, the right move is usually an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative, who assists at no cost. Second, any person or company asking for money to help with an initial claim, or who is not VA-accredited, is a reason to stop and verify before signing.
Ask any representative directly whether they are VA-accredited, and confirm it independently before signing a fee agreement.
Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100 percent rate when service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment, even if your combined rating is below 100.
The schedular thresholds are what veterans hear described as the 70-40 rule: generally one disability rated at least 60 percent, or a combined rating of at least 70 percent with at least one condition rated at least 40 percent. Falling below those numbers does not automatically end the inquiry, because extraschedular consideration exists for veterans whose conditions genuinely prevent work.
TDIU is one of the most under-claimed benefits in the system. Veterans who have stopped working, or who are only marginally employed because of service-connected conditions, frequently never raise it because nobody told them the schedular percentage was not the whole picture. Employment history, not just medical records, is the evidence that carries it.
Because this is one of the largest military and veteran communities in the country, and the local VA infrastructure shapes how claims are examined and treated.
Joint Base San Antonio brings together Air Force, Army, and joint operations, and the region's medical infrastructure includes major VA facilities alongside the hospitals of the South Texas Medical Center, where our office sits. A significant share of the veterans in this city separated here and never left.
That density has a practical effect on claims. Local examination availability, records held by nearby facilities, and the concentration of veterans with overlapping service histories all influence how a file is developed.
It also means a great many people here are living with a denial they were told was final and never was. If you need assistance understanding what your disability benefits should be, a San Antonio VA disability lawyer can read the decision with you before any deadline runs.
Because he sat on the other side of the uniform for nearly 15 years and does not need the service record explained to him.
Jose Robles Jr is a decorated Air Force combat veteran with a 95% success rate, $5M+ recovered, 1,000+ cases handled, and a 4.9 star Google rating.
Jose "Joe" Robles Jr served nearly 15 years as an Air Force Military Police officer, including four combat tours in the Middle East, before earning his law degree from Texas A&M University School of Law. He spent four years at Bailey & Galyen, rising to Managing Attorney of the Pre-Litigation Personal Injury Department, before founding this firm.
Veterans describing exposures, deployments, or the reasons an incident never made it into a medical record are talking to someone who was there for that world rather than reading about it. The firm also works in Spanish, which matters in a city where a large share of the veteran community does.
If you were hurt in an accident as well, we handle San Antonio car accident claims and motorcycle claims, which are separate from VA compensation and can proceed alongside it. For the firm's full range of services in the area, see our San Antonio personal injury page.
Fees are regulated by federal law rather than set freely. Under VA rules, an accredited attorney may not charge for work performed before you receive notice of the initial decision on your claim, and after that point a fee agreement not exceeding 20 percent of past-due benefits awarded is presumed reasonable. Fees are normally contingent on winning, and the VA can pay the attorney directly out of past-due benefits. Only VA-accredited attorneys and agents may charge fees at all.
For an initial claim, usually not, because accredited Veterans Service Organizations help file those at no cost and an attorney cannot charge a fee before the first decision anyway. After a denial or an underrated decision, representation is worth considering, because the problem is usually a missing medical nexus opinion or an inadequate examination rather than a missing form. What changes outcomes is evidence and choosing the right review lane, not persistence alone.
Conditions without objective imaging or laboratory findings are the hardest, which in practice means mental health claims such as PTSD, plus chronic pain conditions, fibromyalgia, migraines, and illnesses tied to environmental exposures. The obstacle is almost always the nexus: linking a current diagnosis to an in-service event. Buddy statements, unit records, and a well-supported private medical opinion frequently do more than another round of argument with the rating decision.
It refers to the schedular threshold for Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, known as TDIU. Under the VA's rules a veteran generally qualifies for schedular consideration with one disability rated at least 60 percent, or with a combined rating of at least 70 percent including at least one condition rated at least 40 percent. TDIU pays at the 100 percent rate when service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment. Extraschedular consideration exists for veterans who fall below the thresholds.
Current VA rules give you three: a Supplemental Claim if you have new and relevant evidence, a Higher-Level Review if the existing evidence was already sufficient and the decision was simply wrong, or a Board Appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Each has a one-year window from the decision, and choosing the wrong lane wastes months. Filing a Higher-Level Review when the real problem is a missing nexus opinion is the most common avoidable error.
Often yes, because they are separate systems. VA disability compensation is a federal benefit based on service connection, while a personal injury claim seeks damages from whoever caused a specific accident. A veteran injured in a San Antonio car crash can pursue that claim while receiving VA compensation. Where treatment was provided by the VA, reimbursement interests can attach to a recovery, so those need to be identified rather than discovered at settlement.
It depends heavily on the lane. Higher-Level Review and Supplemental Claims are generally faster than a Board Appeal, and within Board Appeals a direct review on the existing record moves faster than a docket that includes new evidence or a hearing. Published averages shift over time, so any firm quoting a fixed timeline should be asked what it is based on. What consistently shortens the process is submitting a complete, well-supported record the first time.
This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.
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