When it comes to American service members, we all know that their job consists of them putting themselves in harm’s way for the honor of their country – which is by no means an easy task. That being said, every American Veteran that was injured while serving their country is naturally owed a great debt of service. That alone is something that can never truly be repaid. But, there are ways in which the US government tries to do so – and that is through the VA disability compensation.
So, if you happen to be a veteran that has become sick or injured in any way while serving in the military, or, on the other hand, if your service resulted in an existing condition worsening – you possibly qualify for a monthly, tax-free VA disability payment.
The thing is, in order to benefit from this compensation, there are so many layers of bureaucracy that it can oftentimes seem downright impossible to surpass these obstacles. That is why, in order to ease things up as well as to help you learn more about this topic, in this article, we have tackled the most important things that you need to know about veteran disability compensation.
How is the Eligibility for VA Disability Compensation Determined?
When it comes to experience in the military and the damage done to the veteran in question, of course, not everyone is the same. That being said, all the variables that come into determining the level of someone’s eligibility for the compensation get more complicated.
The thing is, not every veteran is eligible for disability compensation, and it goes the same way when we talk about which injury exactly qualifies as a disability. Many people tend to disregard the aspect of mental disorders induced by the military service, but as the experts from www.ptsdlawyers.com explain, these mental disorders are extremely serious and can severely impair a person’s ability to work, interact with others, and pretty much just interact with the rest of the world. The relieving thing about the whole process is the fact that nowadays, it never disapproves of these types of disabilities, and also that there are pretty clear guidelines that exist in order to make these determinations easier.
That being said, if you have a current illness or injury that has an imposing effect on either your mind, your body, or even both, there are some requirements that need to be affirmative in order to be considered eligible.
What Requirements are Necessary?
Well, first things first – you must satisfy one of the two options that we are going to explain. You must have served (it can be either on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training) or you must have a disability rating for your service-connected condition. So, determining in what scenario do you fall into, as well as supporting documentation is the first step to be made. Now, the following step is to determine which category do you fall into from the following.
In-service disability claims
In case you have gotten sick or injured while serving in such a manner that can be linked to the illness or injury in question.
Pre-service disability claims
The second scenario is the one in which the military service has made your pre-existing condition worse than it was before.
Post-service disability claims
The last scenario is one in which you weren’t aware of the condition while on duty but is related to your service and it has appeared after your service ended.
Basically, if you satisfy both the first as well as any of the mentioned second options – you are considered eligible for the VA disability compensation.
How are Conditions for the Purposes of Disability Claims Defined?
It’s important to consider the fact that military-related disabilities go much further than just combat wounds – the main reason for that being that not all military personnel is a front line combatant. So, having that in mind, let’s talk about different conditions that are considered a disability.
Mental Disability
It’s extremely important to take induced mental disorders into consideration when we talk about military induced disabilities since they are just as impactful as the physical ones – and as we have previously mentioned, yet they somehow fail to be assessed as they are. So, disorders like traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and many similar ones are absolutely going to make a person eligible for compensation.
Even though the effects of such disabilities can be felt after a couple of months after the person in question is dispatched – they are nonetheless extremely impactful and need to be assessed as such and then properly dealt with.
Physical Disability
Now, physical disabilities are just as real and impactful as mental disabilities, and hence make a person eligible for VA compensation. So, whether we are talking about breathing problems, back pain, hearing loss, complications due to scar tissue, loss of range of motion, ulcers, or different types of cancer that could have been caused by contact with toxic chemicals – one thing is the same, they all make you eligible for compensation.
How Much Compensation Can You Expect?
Now the thing is, there are different levels of compensation that depend on the extent of the disability, regarding how much it impacts the daily life of a veteran in question. So, the thing gets even more complicated if there are several different disabilities that have occurred as a result of the military service. Basically, the veteran that has an eligible condition is going to receive a specific amount of compensation from the VA, and how much money that depends on what’s called a “disability rating”.
As previously mentioned, this disability rating is based on how severe the service-connected condition is. Different variables that come into consideration when it comes to the disability factor are mostly dependent on the evidence you present. So, this evidence can consist of medical test results or doctor’s reports, information obtained from federal agencies, and other sources, as well as the results of your VA claim exam. The VA claim isn’t always necessary but can be done if there is any questionable evidence.
So, What is the Expected Sum?
Basically, depending on where you are on the disability rating, ranging from 10% to 100%, the sum of money can range from around $150 per month up to about $3,500. It all depends on the extent of the disability.
In the end, as we have said at the beginning of the text, there is no way in which you, as a veteran, can ever be fully repaid for everything that you have done and everything that you have been through – but there are options. So, that being said, we hope that you understand your options better right now, and be sure to act on them since they definitely can help you in many different ways.
