Every year, NVLSP successfully represents hundreds of veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Through our work, we have identified several common errors made by both VA Regional Offices and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. In some cases, if an advocate is able to identify one of these errors early in the VA adjudication process, they can take action to get it resolved quickly and ensure that the claimant is granted VA benefits as soon as possible. In other cases, the advocate may be able to prevent the VA from making one of these errors in the first place. This webinar will discuss errors that the VA frequently makes in adjudicating disability benefits claims and strategies advocates can use to prevent or minimize the negative effects of these errors. By using these strategies, advocates can prevent denials of claims by VA Regional Offices and the Board of Veterans’ Appeal to get their veterans the benefits they deserve in a more efficient manner.

This 90-minute webinar will cover several different topics such as:

• How to force the VA to provide a medical opinion on whether a veteran’s hypertension is linked to Agent Orange exposure, and what evidence to submit to help obtain a favorable linkage
opinion
• Common errors made in VA sleep apnea examinations and how lay evidence can play a crucial role in supporting sleep apnea claims
• Forcing the VA to address the effects of flare-ups of joint conditions, even when a veteran is not examined during a flare-up
• How the VA will often wrongly hold the absence of evidence of in-service treatment for a condition against the veteran, particularly in the context of hearing loss and tinnitus claims

This webinar will be presented by Alexis Ivory, Esq.