Areas of Practice

VA Disability Appeals

Ready to take the next step?

Complete the New Client Intake Form and Jessica will personally evaluate how she can help.

Have you applied for VA disability benefits, but were denied service connection? Did the VA grant your disability claim, but underrate the condition? Do you believe you are underemployed or unemployed because of your service-connected disabilities?

Fairwinds Veterans Law can help. Navigating the VA benefits system can be confusing and overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. Founding Attorney Jessica Simmons has proven experience in the following areas of veterans disability benefits claims and appeals:

  • Direct & Secondary Service Connection

  • Presumptive Service Connection

  • Chronicity and Continuity of Symptomatology

  • Legacy and Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) Appeals

  • Supplemental Claims

  • Higher Level Reviews

  • Appeals to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

  • Appeals to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

  • Agent Orange and “PACT Act” claims

  • Total Disability Based on Unemployability (TDIU)

  • Death and Indemnity Compensation

  • Accrued Benefits for Survivors

  • Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE) Claims

  • Musculoskeletal Claims

  • Mental Health Claims, to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Claims

  • Sleep Apnea Claims

  • Cancer and Cancer-residual Claims

Worried about costs? You only pay if you win. Fairwinds Veterans Law charges a flat 20% fee, which is subtracted from your backpay award if the VA grants your appeal.

Discharge Upgrades

Were you discharged from the military with a less-than-honorable discharge characterization? Do you believe the military gave you a character-of-discharge that doesn’t fairly reflect the quality of your service? Or, do you believe your character-of-discharge was fair, but you believe you have “turned your life around” in the years since you got out?

Fairwinds Veterans Law can help. Applying for a discharge upgrade is like the “Wild West” of military administrative law. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you may end up submitting any application that is incomplete, incorrect, or ineffective. Founding Attorney Jessica Simmons can help you apply for a discharge upgrade with:

  • The Discharge Review Board for your branch of service

  • The Board for Corrections of Military/Naval Records

  • The Department of Defense Discharge Review Board

While there are no guaranteed outcomes, retaining an attorney for your discharge upgrade application can improve your chances of success. And, if Jessica believes you aren’t an ideal candidate for a discharge upgrade, she will give it to you straight and educate you on other options you can pursue.

Worried about price? Fairwinds Veterans Law charges a flat fee for comprehensive representation at each Board, to include all reasonable expenses like application assembly, drafting legal briefs, gathering and presenting evidence, and appearing at a personal hearing (if needed) on your behalf.

Ready to take the next step?

Complete the New Client Intake Form and Jessica will personally evaluate how she can help.