In this video Marc Whitehead, a Board Certified Veterans Disability Attorney, explains the different VA Compensation Claims.
VA compensation claims are one of the most common types of VA claims.
Unfortunately the VA and our government have made the process of obtaining VA benefits difficult, long, and incredibly complex leading to countless denied veterans claims.
Many Veterans haven’t been told that there are different types of compensation claims and what they have to prove to receive benefits for each type of claim.
There are four types of compensation claims.
1- Direct Service Connection
Most Veterans are familiar with this type.
Veterans can file this type of claim at any time, but it become harder to prove the longer you are out of service. It isn’t unheard of for a veteran to have multiple service connected claims going on at one time.
There are three requirements to prove so that you can get your benefits:
Current Condition
An event that occurred during service
A Nexus connecting your event in service to your current condition.
2- Secondary Service Connection
When a Veteran has a condition that directly relates to their service and later suffers from a different condition that developed because of the original condition. It’s possible to get veterans benefits for that secondary disability.
Requirements to prove secondary condition:
Already have a service connected condition
Currently be suffering from a secondary condition
Obtain a doctors opinion stating that secondary condition developed because of the original service connected disability.
It’s very important to be aware of and pursue Secondary benefits because they can often be more costly and damaging then the original issue.
3- Claims for increased disability ratings
After is been decided that you have a service connected condition you’ll be given benefits based on the percentage of disability that they calculate using medical definitions. If you believe the level that you are disabled has increased, you may want to return to the VA and ask for an increased compensation. They’ll examine you and give you a diagnosis. There is no real downside to this, and quit a bit of upside if it’s determined that your condition has worsened. It’s also a good opportunity for the VA to notice Secondary conditions.
4- Reopen Claims
Denied veterans claims can be appealed but even after the appeals period its possible to reopen a claim at a later time.
All you need to show is new and material evidence that was missing during the original claim that directly relates to the reason that first claim was denied.
