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Application for Reconsideration

If your application ends up in the appeals process then you need to understand from the outset that you’re in for a very challenging time.

Application for Reconsideration

If your initial application is declined by Veterans UK they will provide you with a clear reason for doing so. You then have 12 months in which to request an Application for Reconsideration, known simply as an AFR, and that limitation period starts from the date of their decision letter. 

Here are some reasons why your initial application could be declined and how you could end up in the appeals process:

1. Your application is out of time as you failed to claim within the 7-year limitation period.
2. As there hasn’t been any operative treatment expected or required your injury falls below the minimum tariff.
3. Your injury has not been accepted because no diagnosis was identified and was therefore not caused by your service.
4. Your injury is accepted as being caused by your service but is not serious enough to meet the minimum tariff.
5. The Secretary of State does not accept that your condition was wholly or partly caused by your service; therefore it was causally unrelated to service and no benefit is payable.,
6. Benefit is not payable to or in respect of a person by reason of an injury sustained or worsened which is caused by tripping, slipping or falling.
7. The Secretary of State accepts that your injury requiring operative treatment was partly caused by your service but is not accepted as the predominant cause.
8. The Secretary of State does not accept that your injury was caused by your service, There is no evidence of any injury in your medical records and therefore no benefit is payable.
9. At the time of the incident you were not carrying out an activity that was of a hazardous nature in a hazardous environment or training to improve or maintain the effectiveness of the forces.
10. Your medical records show that you suffered from this condition prior to your military service. It is therefore considered a pre-existing condition for which no benefit is payable.

There are a few things you now also need to take on board: 

• There is no application form to apply for an AFR. 

• You have to make your case, much as a lawyer does when presenting a written argument, and give clear reasons why the decision made by Veterans UK should be reversed. 

• You need to understand the complexities of entries in your service medical records and be able to challenge them if necessary. 

• If you need an independent medical opinion or report to strengthen your appeal then it is likely that you will have to pay for it. 

• You need to have excellent drafting [writing] skills to put together a comprehensive argument that is objective, persuasive, and compelling. 

• Veterans UK is not there to help you prepare your appeal so you would be well-advised to seek professional help. 
• You need to produce your own evidence to present to Veterans UK to persuade them that you have grounds for an appeal.

Independent Tribunal

If your AFR is declined - and a huge amount of them are declined on what many would argue are technicalities - then you can make an application to an Independent Tribunal.

This is a significant step up the ladder of difficulty because this is a much more regimented, legal environment, where your case is heard by a Judge in a courtroom environment. You will need to produce a very good case on points that formed part of your earlier appeal and supported [if necessary] by medical evidence that will be persuasive to the Tribunal.

You will be arguing your case against people sent to the Tribunal by Veterans UK, and they will have a significant advantage over you unless you are either very well prepared yourself or you are being represented by someone who knows the procedures.

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