Veterans suffering from chronic diseases connected to their active service may be able to win their VA claims by using the service connection by legal presumption. For certain chronic diseases, the VA automatically presumes the connection between the condition and the time in service and grants veterans benefits. The list of chronic conditions accepted for this presumption is quite long and includes certain types of cancer, tuberculosis, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and many other ailments. Consider consulting a qualified disability lawyer who can help you determine whether the VA includes your condition chronic.
Once you’ve determined that your disability is on the VA’s most current list, you’ll need to meet the requirement of the presumptive period. Veterans need to provide medical evidence that the condition in question manifested to a degree of at least 10% no more than one year after their active service ended to be eligible for applying the service connection by legal presumption to their VA claims.
If you were diagnosed and treated with a chronic condition within the presumptive period, your case will be fairly clear-cut and it should be simple to obtain the service connection by legal presumption. However, if diagnosis occurred after the presumptive period, you and your disability lawyer will need to provide plenty of medical evidence to successfully receive your benefits. The most important piece of evidence to provide is a medical opinion stating that it’s as likely as not that your disease first manifested during the presumptive period. With a physician’s opinion clearly stating that assumption, you will be much more likely to have a successful claim.
How can you win your Veterans Disability Claim Using VA’s List of Presumptive Chronic and Tropical Disease?
The requirements for establishing service connection by legal presumption for tropical diseases are quite similar to those applied to chronic diseases. The tropical disease in question must be on the VA’s approved list, which includes dysentery, yellow fever, amebiasis, cholera, and several others specific to military service in tropical locations.
As with the legal presumption for chronic diseases, symptoms of the tropical disease in question must have been noted within one year after discharge for successful VA claims. However, this rule can be relaxed in the cases of certain diseases for which the incubation period is known to be longer than a year. As always, the best strategy is to provide as much medical documentation as possible to support your case.
Although the VA does make it easier for certain veterans to receive benefits by way of the service connection by legal presumption, successfully arguing VA claims can still be a tricky and complicated process.
For more information on VA claims visit our website or contact VA Disability Attorney Marc Whitehead for your free consultation. Be sure to download a copy of our free e-book.