You served in the military and during your service, you were injured. Let’s say it was a back problem, due to all that hiking they made you do, with the ill fitting boots and the pack on your back filled with all sorts of heavy stuff. Now…you are out…but that back injury persists…what can you do?
Actually, there is quite a lot you can do…
This page will focus on one very specific benefit available to military veterans from the Veterans Administration. We will discuss the nature of the benefit and how to successfully apply for it.
Veterans Administration Compensation is, essentially, a form of “workers compensation”. This is no ordinary workers comp…I like to refer to it as workers comp on steroids. It is that good.
The primary law is found in Title 10 US Code, chapters 11 and 13 as well as title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). More on the CFR in a bit.
In order to qualify for the Compensation benefit, the veteran must provide evidence to show 3 things:
FIRST: the applicant must show they suffered some form of injury while in service. I described a back injury to kick this off…but the injury could be any number of things, including mental trauma. The key is that the injury happened while in service.
Service includes active duty, but can also include other types of service, for example, if you were at a “drill weekend” with your reserve unit, that may qualify.
Each branch of service has regulations that allow the commander to conduct what is called a “line of duty” investigation (you may know the acronym “LOD). The purpose of such an investigation is to determine if an injury, during reserve training, happened “in the line of duty”. To successfully claim an injury that happened during non active duty reserve service you need one of these investigations.
On the topic or reserves, is the National Guard. National Guard membership is unique as if you are in the Guard you are also in the Army (or AF, depending). If you were injured during guard service, a key question will be “who were you working for”. IF you were called up by the Governor of the state, and injured? You could claim workers compensation from the state, but not from the VA. On the other had if you are called to duty on federal orders (Title 10)? Any injury while on Title 10 will qualify.
Finally, when talking about injury in service, it is somewhat common for folks to enter the service with some medial issue and, while in service, have this issue made worse. This is known a “aggravation of a pre existing condition”. If that happened you likely be entitled to compensation, but perhaps not for the entire injury, just the part made worse by your service.
SECOND: The applicant must show that the injury is present today. If you are injured in service, but the injury resolves, then there is no basis to file a claim. It may be the condition has improved, or gotten worse…but to meet the requirements of the claim it must be present when you file the claim.
THIRD: There is a connection between the current medical condition and the in service injury. This normally comes from your doctor and can be as simple as the doctor stating, in a letter, “I believe that Mr Smith’s back injury was, more likely than not, the result of his military service”.
Once you have all three parts (injury in service/current diagnosis/a doctor saying that there is a link) ? You have a valid claim.
Let’s talk about how to file your claim. First, and foremost, despite what some lawyers may tell you, you do NOT need a lawyer to successfully prosecute a VA compensation claim. This is true even I you filled once and were denied. In my experience, the lawyers who charge for help with VA claims do not provide much in the way of value over what is available to most forks for free.
While the VA does have folks who can assist you filling claims, in my experience they are not, typically, best suited to this task…call me cynical but if I want to force the VA to honor my rights under federal law, I want an advocate who is not being paid by the VA.
This would be a good time to mention the private organizations who can assist you, many at no cost. You have heard of some of them. DAV, VFW, American Legion, the list goes on. There are, literally, over 100 such organizations who can help. I would not bother.
The reason is that you have, at your disposal, a County VSO (veterans services officer). This is a person with training and experience, who can help you prosecute your claim at no cost to you. And, unlike many of the private organizations who rely on volunteers, your county VSO will be a paid employee with (usually) a ton of experience in filing and winning claims. Contact your county…they can tell you who does veterans claims. If they have no clue? No worries, call up your state department of Veterans Affairs. They will link you up with your County VSO. Fun Fact: The Federal government gives a ton of money, each year, to the states, to help the states provide veterans with the benefits they deserve. The states take that money, or at least some of it, and hire County VSOs.
Now I want to spend a few minutes discussing what happens After you file your claim:
The claim is submitted to the Regional Office. The VA will first review the claim to determine if the 3 elements have been met. If they do not believe you meet the elements, they will return to you denied. Assuming the VA finds your claim meets the elements, an examination will be scheduled. The VA will appoint a doctor to examine you and issue a report. This is a good sign! It does not guarantee you will win the claim…but, in my experience, once the VA grants the exam, the likelihood of the claim being approved is high.
On this note: IF the VA notifies you that you have an exam, DO NOT MISS THE EXAM. It is difficult to reschedule and you may have to refile to get another exam scheduled.
Assuming the doctor doctor conducting the exam agrees that you meet the 3 elements, the VA will then assign a “rating” for your disability. This brings us back to the CFR. If you google 38 CFR book C, you can see, for your self, what the criteria is for ratings.
Ratings run from 0% (meaning you have a condition but it is not adversely impacting you currently) to 100% (meaning it is significantly impacting you, to the point of being totally disabled) in 10% increments.
It is a good idea to review the ratings schedule for your claimed condition so you understand what the VA is looking for. Warning: You may need a medical dictionary to understand some of the terms used.
How long will this take? In the years I have worked VA claims I have seen this vary considerably. 8-10 years ago, if you had filed, I would have estimated a year to 18 months. Currently? A few months. Really, though, this will depend on your regional office and their caseload.
A few more thoughts to close this out:
-What happens if you file and the claim is denied? Or say it is approved but say that the % disability they have award you is too low?
You have 1 year from the date in which the decision was sent to you to file an appeal. I have another episode that covers appeals with the VA