Veterans Disability: How to Qualify, What to Do if You Are Denied

If you are a veteran of the United States military and you suffer from a serious medical or psychological problem, you may qualify for disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (also known as the VA). By following these basic steps, you may be able to obtain the benefits you rightly deserve. Here is what you need to know about obtaining veterans disability benefits:

How Can You Qualify

To qualify for VA disability benefits, you need to meet certain basic requirements. These include:

☐ You must have served in a branch of the US military

To be able to get VA disability benefits, you must have served in the US military in some capacity. This includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force. Members of the National Guard and Reserves may also be eligible if they were in active service or were injured during inactive duty training.

☐ You must not have a dishonorable discharge

In addition, you must not have received a dishonorable discharge from the military if you want to qualify for disability benefits. This also includes people with Other-Than-Honorable discharges or bad conduct discharges. However, you may be able to apply for a discharge upgrade or Character of Discharge review to adjust your type of discharge to get around this issue.

☐ You must have a severe medical or psychological condition

To be considered disabled, you must have some kind of severe medical problem that prevents you from being able to carry out your responsibilities at work, or which prevents you from handling daily tasks. This may include physical disabilities such as paralysis or hearing loss, as well as psychological disabilities like panic disorder or PTSD.

☐ Your medical condition must be backed by medical evidence

It is not enough to claim that you have some kind of serious medical issue. You must be able to prove you had a medical condition through medical evidence, including records from treatment by VA doctors, as well as any tests or procedures performed by private doctors or hospitals.

☐ Your disability must be service-related

For a disability to count towards obtaining VA benefits, it must be somehow “service-related.” This means you either must have gotten it during your service, or you must have a pre-existing condition that worsened during your service. For example, if you had major depression prior to joining the military, but it became worse due to things you experienced in the military, that could qualify as being service-related.

☐ Your disability may appear long after you finish your service

Not all service-related disabilities appear right away. Many medical conditions, such as certain types of cancer, are often tied to military service due to issues like burn pit exposure. You are still entitled to disability benefits as a result of these medical issues, regardless of how long they take to appear.

What to Do if You Are Denied

If your claim for disability benefits is denied by the VA, or if you receive a lower disability rating than you think you should be entitled to, you may still be able to appeal your case to get it re-evaluated. There are several types of appeals, which are as follows:

•Supplemental Claim

This is a type of appeal that is based on submitting new evidence that was not a part of your original application. For example, there may be new medical documentation demonstrating the nature and severity of your disability, or there may be new scientific or documentary evidence connecting your disability to your military service.

•Higher-Level Review

This is an appeal made when there is no new evidence to submit, but you wish for it to be reviewed by a higher level member of the VA. They will check over your claim to ensure there are no errors that may have resulted in you being improperly denied benefits.

•Board Appeal

This is the highest form of appeal within the VA itself, where your claim will be reviewed by a Veterans Law Judge operating under the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. They will go over your case and make a judgment on whether granting benefits is appropriate based on existing law.

If you are interested in obtaining veterans disability benefits, contact attorney John Zaher at 631-310-4655 or on his mobile phone at 631-375-8770, where he can be reached 24/7/365. He will help you explore your options and ensure you get the best chance possible of obtaining disability benefits.