One of the biggest challenges when applying for VA benefits is establishing a firm link between your disabling condition and your military service. This is known as service-connection. You may be eligible for VA disability benefits if your illness or injury was caused by an event or situation during your time in service or if your military service aggravated a pre-existing medical condition—physical or mental.
Generally, the VA will not pay disability benefits just for a pre-existing condition. However, if a pre-existing disability or illness got worse during your active duty, you might be eligible for compensation under 38 CFR 3.306.
The category of “Aggravated Service Connection” applies to Veterans who suffered from a health problem before they began military service, but their duties in service made their condition worse and led to an eventual debilitating injury. To prove that military service aggravated your pre-existing condition the VA requires "clear and unmistakable" evidence. Because many pre-existing conditions just worsen on their own over time, there must be evidence of a connection to a specific in-service event (or series of events) that worsened your condition. There are many ways to establish this connection, each of which has its own methods of proof.
The best way to establish proof of a pre-existing condition is if during your military pre-service physical, examiners detected and recorded (or “noted”) your impairment(s). However, if the condition was not noted during your induction exam, it will be much harder to prove to the VA that the condition existed before your time in service. This is because unless a defect is “noted” at the induction exam, a Veteran is presumed to be in sound condition at the time of entrance into the service. This is called the presumption of soundness.
Even if a pre-existing condition is not noted, proof of a prior impairment can also be established using a medical diagnosis of your condition made prior to your induction exam. Records from your private physicians are critically important as are the printed results of medical tests like x-rays, blood tests, and scans.
Other evidence that can help support a claim includes:
- An expert's medical opinion of the severity of your condition before and after your time in the military. The doctor's opinion should confirm, not just suggest, that the condition existed before your service.
- Employment records and witness statements which illustrate how your pre-existing condition affected your activities of daily life prior to your time in the military and how that changed after your service.
Typically, proof of aggravated service connection isn’t required for those who served in combat or were POWs because medical records are difficult to obtain in these situations.
If you’ve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low rating, don’t give up. Instead contact the VA accredited disability lawyers at Cuddigan Law. We can offer you a free evaluation of your case and free professional advice on how to proceed. We have helped Veterans all across the U.S. get the benefits they have rightfully earned.
