Your health is your greatest asset. After dedicating yourself to the service and protection of your country you deserve the benefit of having your health protected. VA disability can be available to previous service members whose current illness or health issue holds a proven connection to their service. While this is a seemingly straightforward idea, the process of navigating the benefits system and finding the care that is available to you can be incredibly taxing. Finding a VA disability lawyer that knows the process intimately can help you get the care you deserve, and ultimately help you protect your greatest asset. Your VA disability lawyer can help you avoid the 4 mistakes below and can help you on your way to better mental, physical, and emotional health.   

The Process

But first, what is the process for finding the care that you deserve? VA Disability can be available to Veterans who can prove a connection between their current illnesses or medical issues and their previous or current military service. This can be more difficult than it would seem it should be. 

Active-duty military service is all-consuming work, and many veterans find it difficult to document and keep track of each and every instance of illness or injury sustained in the line of duty. For many, reliving these instances of injury for the purposes of paperwork can feel like restarting the pain that they are attempting to get treated. For those to whom this sounds familiar, be prepared to do personal research. Having help as you do this can be crucial to your self preservation and an experienced VA-accredited lawyer can help guide you through this process. Because, as can be seen in the endless amounts of paperwork required,  the VA requires documentation for everything.

Eligibility 

VA Disability benefits are available for both physical and mental contions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are several specific conditions you must meet to prove your eligibility for a VA disability rating. In addition to showing proof of active-duty service,  in most cases you must meet certain requirements that clearly document your condition to a particular time and place during your prior service.

A Service Connection

Proving the connection between your condition and your service means that you have a history of service records, medical records, and doctor’s opinions that show a clear line between your condition and your service. By working with the right legal team, your attorney can ensure that you have the correct documents, completed thoroughly and with the right medical evidence highlighted to prove that your condition is connected to your service. 

So how do you do this correctly and what mistakes should you avoid?

Mistake 1: Not understanding the process.

31% of VA applications are declined. The VA is very specific. Does it feel like the VA wants to decline applications? They do. The VA, like many administrative groups, are swamped with applications. Often, they are looking for any technicality on which to dismiss a claim. This makes it all the more important for you to cover all of your bases. Proving that you qualify is absolutely crucial to getting your claim approved. But how do you know that you qualify?

Qualifying for VA benefits does not just entail filling out a few forms. You must address five points:

– You were a Service Member. What branch of the military did you serve in? Where were you stationed, and what were your dates of service?

– You are currently disabled. This seems like it should be simple, but the VA is going to want specifics. What is the disability you’re living with?  The VA will want to know and establish how disabled you are.

– Proof that something happened to you during your service. This is the step at which you will need to get specific with the timing and nature of your injury. The injury causing your disability must have happened during your service.

– Medical evidence that shows the severity of your disability. Once the service connection is established, a disability rating is assigned to you based on the severity of your impairments. The amount you are paid each month is based on the percentage assigned to you in your disability rating. You may be assigned multiple ratings for distinct injuries or conditions, but instead of adding them up, the VA calculates them for you based on their own specific formula, and you’ll be compensated accordingly.

– Medical evidence linking your disability to this event. Can you produce medical documentation linking the current disabling condition with an in-service injury, illness, or event? You will need a C&P exam. A C&P exam–short for compensation and pension exam–is a medical examination performed by a VA physician or contracted physician who will evaluate and document the current severity of your condition or injury under consideration for disability. This exam may be brief, but has long-lasting consequences when it comes to the amount of benefits you may receive. Examiners’ findings can be brief as well. The VA code ratings are very specific, and require detailed findings by an examining medical professional. 

Sometimes, only one C&P exam is necessary to determine your level of disability. However, if you have specific injuries or conditions related to your hearing, vision, or a dental or psychological condition, you may need additional C&P exams with a specialist. 

You have the right as a veteran/claimant to submit your own evidence in the form of an examination that you acquire. These exams can be used to rebut the findings in prior C&P exams. These exams can provide the level of required detail to properly address how your conditions fit into the rating codes.

All of these important steps involve paperwork. Choosing a VA lawyer can be a crucial step in making sure that you address each point fully and fill out the paperwork properly.

Mistake 2: Not obtaining statements from friends, family members, and people you served with during the documented time you were injured or exposed to harmful conditions.

The people you served with were important during your active duty and, more than likely remained important to you afterward. They will be incredibly important to your application as well. Statements from service buddies can corroborate your claim to the event and its after effects, while statements from friends and family can testify to how your disability affects your daily life.

Your VA lawyer can help you determine whose statement would help your case the most, and what those statements should contain.

Mistake 3: Downplaying or exaggerating your disability, and its effect on your life.

You’ve spent a lifetime taking pride in being able to handle stressful situations and discomfort with grace. Some veterans’ injuries may affect them more than they know or would like to admit. Making this mistake can cost you the benefits you deserve. You served with honor; there’s nothing shameful about allowing the VA to take care of you now. Unfortunately, the VA encounters a few veterans who exaggerate their injuries or illnesses hoping to maximize benefits for which they may not be rightfully eligible. Because of its occasional experiences with these situations, the VA quickly recognizes an exaggerated claim. Exaggerating your disability or its effects on your life casts doubt on your entire claim, and can lead to an unnecessary denial.

Be honest, accurate, and complete. Think through your daily life and how your disability has changed your everyday life. Perhaps you can still dress yourself, but does it take longer to do the small things—buttoning buttons or grabbing a zipper? Your medicine may help reduce your pain, but can you drive or function while you’re on it? Has your medication affected the quality of your sleep?

Sometimes having an outside perspective—someone who can ask you the right questions to get to the bottom of your condition—can be a huge help. Your VA lawyer can help paint the picture accurately and completely, avoiding the pitfalls of saying too little, or the possibility of exaggeration.

Mistake 4: Neglecting to obtain sufficient medical proof of your disability.

Veterans often rely on their own statements to link their disability to their service. That is not going to be enough for a VA application. While examiners evaluating your claim aren’t necessarily looking for a reason to deny it, they will pick up on any hint of hearsay or illegitimacy in your personal statement. Your doctors’ opinion carries a lot of weight and is an absolute necessity for having the most complete application with the best possibility of acceptance.

A  lawyer experienced with VA disability claims can help obtain statements from your medical providers to bolster your claim. 

You served your country, and you deserve help for your disability. Having the help of a VA-accredited lawyer can give you the best shot at obtaining the benefits you need. Your quality of life is only as good as the quality of your health. Take care to protect your greatest asset by having an experienced lawyer on your side putting your best application forward.