All veterans are entitled to receive compensation if they have disabilities or psychological conditions that stem from their service.

Whether you suffer from Agent Orange exposure or Gulf War Syndrome, it’s important to make a successful disability claim — but if the VA rejects your claim, it might be time to consider appealing the decision with the help of a VA-licensed veterans attorney.

To learn more about why you should hire an attorney for your disability claim process, here are the top four ways hiring a veterans lawyer can help you get the right compensation in your disability claim:

1. Legal advice for veterans: Navigating the VA’s system for giving compensation to veterans can be tough and complicated — even for someone who has filed a disability claim before. However, a veterans lawyer makes his or her living off of working with the VA’s claims system, and will thus be able to give you the best advice and guidance as you work toward obtaining compensation.

2. Help with retroactive awards: If you’re the veteran of a war that happened decades ago, you’re likely entitled to benefits for all the years you went without compensation. Your veterans lawyer can help make this apparent to the VA during your claims process.

3. Individualized attention: No two veteran disability claims are alike, and the best veterans lawyers will understand this. Your lawyer will be empathetic toward your condition and work their hardest to get you compensated in addition to providing one-on-one advice and guidance.

4. A successful claim: Having your claim denied can be an awful feeling. But if you appeal the decision with the help of your lawyer, you can feel assured and confident that your second try at receiving compensation will be successful. VA-certified lawyers have years of experience with helping people just like you win compensation — you can trust them to do the same with your claim. Great references here.