Yes — in many cases. While appealing outside the one-year window means you lose the original effective date (and therefore the back pay calculated from that date), you can still file a new claim or a Supplemental Claim if you have new and relevant evidence that was not previously considered.

Additionally, if you were denied for a condition that is now covered as a PACT Act presumptive condition — such as burn pit exposure or Agent Orange-related conditions — you may be able to refile and establish a new, earlier effective date based on the PACT Act’s effective date provisions.

No. Conviction Solutions represents veterans on a contingency basis — we do not charge any upfront fees or hourly rates. We are only compensated if you receive increased VA disability benefits. Our fee is a percentage of the retroactive back pay you receive, capped under VA regulations. If we do not win your case, you owe nothing.

You generally have one year from the date of your VA decision to file an appeal in any of the three AMA lanes — Higher-Level Review, Supplemental Claim, or Board of Veterans’ Appeals — without losing your original effective date. If you appeal within this window and eventually win, your back pay goes back to the original claim date.

If you appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) after a Board denial, the deadline is 120 days from the Board decision — with no extensions.

Missing these deadlines does not permanently bar you from pursuing benefits, but it can significantly reduce or eliminate the retroactive back pay you receive.

Appeal timelines vary significantly by lane:

• Higher-Level Review: Typically 4–5 months average, though this varies.
• Supplemental Claim: Typically 4–5 months, depending on evidence complexity.
• Board of Veterans’ Appeals: 12–24+ months depending on the docket and hearing option selected.
• CAVC (federal court): 12–36 months depending on complexity.

Delays in obtaining records, scheduling C&P exams, and processing times all affect timelines. The most important thing is not to miss the one-year filing deadline — file first, then work on building the strongest possible case.

VSOs (Veterans Service Organizations like DAV, VFW, and American Legion) provide free claims representation and are a good resource for initial claims and straightforward appeals. Their representatives are accredited by the VA and knowledgeable about the claims process.

An attorney becomes particularly valuable when: your claim has been denied multiple times, you are appealing to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals or federal court, your case involves complex legal issues (TDIU, effective dates, CUE claims), or the amount of back pay at stake justifies professional representation.

Conviction Solutions handles cases at the BVA and federal court level — the stages where an attorney’s expertise is most critical to the outcome.

The PACT Act (2022) is the largest expansion of VA benefits in history. It added more than 20 presumptive conditions for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, radiation, and other toxic substances. This means the VA must now presume these conditions are service-connected — veterans no longer need to independently prove a direct link between their service and these conditions.

If you were previously denied for a burn pit or toxic exposure condition, the PACT Act may allow you to refile successfully. Veterans deployed to Southwest Asia after August 2, 1990 are presumed to have been exposed to open burn pits.

A Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam is a VA medical examination conducted to assess the current severity of a service-connected condition. The examiner’s findings — range of motion, symptom frequency, functional impact — directly determine your disability rating.

C&P exams are often the weakest point in a veteran’s claim. Common problems include: examiners who spend only a few minutes with the veteran, failure to capture symptom severity at its worst, and failure to apply the flare-up doctrine for musculoskeletal conditions.

If your C&P exam findings don’t accurately reflect your condition, a private medical opinion (nexus letter or independent medical examination) can be submitted as a Supplemental Claim to counter the VA’s findings.

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) allows veterans to receive compensation at the 100% rate even if their combined disability rating is below 100%, if their service-connected conditions prevent them from maintaining substantially gainful employment.

Schedular TDIU eligibility: One condition rated at 60% or higher, OR two or more conditions with a combined rating of 70% or higher (with at least one rated at 40%).

Extraschedular TDIU: Veterans who don’t meet the schedular thresholds may still qualify if the facts of their case — the actual functional impact on their ability to work — support it.

If your service-connected conditions are preventing you from working full-time, contact Conviction Solutions for a free TDIU evaluation.