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How Do You Link a Mental Disorder to Military Service in the VA Claims Process?
If a veteran is suffering from a mental disorder and wants to qualify for compensation, they must first prove through the VA claims process that the disorder is somehow related to their military service. This is not always a simple thing to do. In fact, in many cases veterans hire a disability lawyer to fight on their behalf.
The first step is to get the disorder diagnosed. While symptoms of certain mental disorders can often be seen by a layman, in order to qualify for VA compensation, the inflicted party must be diagnosed by a true expert in the field. This can come in the form of a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist.
Once diagnosed, evidence must be presented that will prove that the disorder was either incurred during military service, or at the very least aggravated by it. This can be a very difficult thing to prove.
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Linking a Mental Disorder to Military Service
One of the best ways to do this is by obtaining a statement from a doctor that says that, in their expert opinion, the patient’s mental disorder was either caused by or exacerbated by their military service.
A common time to obtain this sort of expert opinion is during the DSM-IV axis diagnosis. If the examiner includes military service as a factor in their diagnosis, it means they have found it to be a clear contribution to the patient’s mental disorder. This can then be used by your disability lawyer during the VA claims process as evidence to link the patient’s disorder to their military service.
