Leaving the military isn't always easy. Many veterans suffer devastating injuries as a result of their service, and even though the paperwork is usually in proper order for disability, they may not receive the compensation and assistance needed in a timely fashion. Other veterans may have conditions that are less obvious and may lack sufficient medical reports through no fault of their own. If you're suffering from your injuries or a condition caused by military service and haven't received the help you need, take a look at how the Veterans Affairs (VA) claim system works and what you can do to make appeals more successful.
Your Discharge Type Matters
The VA exists to help veterans in need regardless of their type of discharge. Unfortunately, some of the more popular and helpful forms of assistance require specific types of discharge and some facts about what happened to you during your time in the military.
There are multiple military discharge types and codes to divide those types even further, but three types are important: Honorable, Medical, and Other Than Honorable. An honorable discharge means that you left the military upon completing your tour of duty, medical means that your duty ended for medical reasons with an incomplete contract and other than honorable means that whatever you did, you didn't receive a dishonorable discharge.
Aside from a very small set of exceptions handled on a case-by-case basis, disability compensation requires one of those discharge types. Veterans with dishonorable discharges can receive assistance from programs such as homeless veteran assistance, but not monetary assistance.
In addition to the discharge type, a veteran must prove that their injury is service-connected.
Service-Connection Can Be Difficult
A service-connected injury is any injury that was caused by military service or made significantly worse because of military service. It covers injuries and psychological conditions that were documented upon leaving the military as well as delayed reactions that can be linked to military service.
The easiest, most successful claims include military medical records that point to a specific problem and are filed with the VA as you leave the military (or, if you have time, within your last few months of military service). The VA can still deny a claim with such preparation if the proof doesn't look convincing enough, which may be an immediate sign that you need a personal injury attorney.
For many veterans, the available proof isn't so clear. A veteran could leave with a limp that makes life difficult, but without current medical evidence that the limp is causing current problems, the VA may dismiss the claim as frivolous.
If you feel as if the VA isn't taking your claim serious or isn't understanding the evidence available, contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible for additional fact-finding and support from medical professionals who know exactly how to write medical reports for injury claim success.
