• The purpose of American Red Cross Service to Veterans is (a) to provide assistance and information in preparing, developing, and obtaining sufficient evidence to support claims for veterans’ benefits and (b) to assist claimants appealing to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). American Red Cross staff at the BVA, together with a network of state Work-Share Representatives, act on behalf of the Red Cross to assist claimants.
• Navigating through the Veterans Administration’s (VA) appeal process can be a tedious process accompanied by mounds of paperwork. Each year, the Red Cross helps thousands of veterans and their families prepare and file appeals in hopes of overturning rulings regarding the military benefits they have earned.
• There are several types of claims that may be appealed to the BVA, including claims for compensation, pensions, loans, and medical benefits. Red Cross staff and volunteers assist veterans with claims by requesting independent medical evaluations, reviewing remanded claims from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, researching decisions handed down by the Court, and explaining BVA decisions to veterans, their widows and dependents. In addition, Red Cross staff members review veterans’ claims folders for errors in BVA decisions, submit informal presentations on behalf of veterans and their families, provide status reports to Red Cross chapters, state representatives and veterans, represent veterans and claimants at hearings, respond to congressional inquiries, file reconsiderations and provide many other types of guidance.
• Anyone who files a claim for benefits with the VA and is denied benefits from a VA regional office is eligible to submit an appeal. An appeal can be filed up to one year from the date the regional office mails its initial determination on a claim. After that, the determination is considered final.
  

Claimants never pay fees or membership dues for this assistance—it is a Red Cross service

To learn more contact:

The American Red Cross
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
811 Vermont Avenue N.W.
Lafayette Building, Room 378
Washington, DC 20420
Phone: (202) 565-4119