Question:

Hi Jim, I retired from the Army in 2007 and was denied a VA disability claim in September 2014...I filed the claim paperwork myself. Is it too late for me to refile? If not, would you please point me in the right direction for help filing so I don't get denied again. Sorry to be a bother.

Jim's Reply:

When we file a disability claim and receive a denial we have one year to file a formal appeal. If we don't file an appeal, that claim is permanently closed. To reopen that claim at a later date involves filing the claim again with new and material evidence. That means that you can't simply resubmit the things you filed earlier since that evidence has already been rejected.

I can't tell you how to avoid being denied again since you haven't given me any clue of what you're trying to accomplish. My darn crystal ball is down so I'm at a loss as to what you're filing for, why you were denied and so much more. For all I know you may not have a well grounded claim and you should forget about it.

If you need some help filing a claim I've just updated the list of State and County Veterans Service Officers over at the VAWatchdog Dot Org. Have a look, find your state and talk to a CVSO.