You should appeal if you are challenging the VCF’s determination on your claim.
You should amend if you are seeking a new determination based on new information.
If you file an eligibility appeal, compensation review will not start until after a decision is made on your appeal. In all cases, filing an amendment or appeal will not affect payment on the original determination.
When considering whether to appeal or to amend, consider whether you are waiving or compromising a particular claim or argument by choosing to pursue an amendment rather than an appeal. The VCF has discretion to determine whether an issue submitted on appeal is more appropriately addressed via amendment. Note that in deceased claims (i.e., a claim filed on behalf of a victim who died as a result of his or her 9/11-related condition), you will not be able to amend your claim except in limited circumstances.
You should not appeal the decision on your claim as a way to seek a faster review of an amendment that is unrelated to the decision already made. Appeals filed solely for purposes of seeking consideration of an amendment on an unrelated issue are invalid. If you file an appeal for this reason, you will be notified that your appeal has been cancelled and your right to appeal the determination has been waived. If an award determination has not been made, the new information may be reviewed as an amendment.
Detailed information about how this applies to eligibility and compensation determinations, including specific examples, is available in the Amendments and Appeals Overview document and on the VCF’s Forms and Resources webpage.