Know Your Options After Military Injury
Not all military injuries end with medical discharge or guaranteed disability. If you're able to pass a general physical--which can miss many conditions if you're not aware of a problem--the military can send you to a new civilian life with a lot of unanswered questions and conditions that need treatment. Thankfully, Veterans Affairs (VA) knows of these problems and can help you get the help you need, but it's no simple task. To figure out your injury's compensation opportunities, here are a few VA claim system and attorney assistant details that can help.
The VA Compensates Service-Related Conditions
If you were injured, suffered from a disease with lasting effects, or were otherwise affected in some way that makes it harder for you to live with your life during military service, you can get monetary compensation and medical benefits reserved for disabled veterans.
It doesn't matter if you were at your workcenter or on leave. It doesn't matter if you were deployed in Afghanistan on patrol, in Bahrain on Middle Eastern rest and relaxation, in Japan keeping vigil over North Korea or in the United States passing out basketballs in a military base gym. If you served and suffered, compensation is for you.
The big issue is proving the severity of that condition and how it's connected to the military. A service-connected disability requires proof, such as official military medical record states showing that your condition was caused or at least reported during military service. It's even better if a direct cause is documented, but not necessary.
For many veterans, the journey to service-connection proof means going to a compensation and pension (C&P) examination. This exam appointment is arranged by the VA, and performs basic analysis of any conditions you report on your VA disability claim. For example, complaints about head, neck, or back pain will receive Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examination or an X-Ray, while hearing problems will receive a hearing test at an audiology lab.
The exam isn't perfect, and if you're denied compensation, a second opinion is necessary. To make sure that your benefits arrive in a timely manner, getting a personal injury attorney's help is in your best interests.
What Can A Personal Injury Attorney Do?
Getting evidence that the VA will accept can be difficult, especially if they've already denied your claim. Many pain claims, for example, are denied because there isn't any detailed evidence showing what may be causing the problem. The VA can't prove that it's real or fake, and even if you feel the pain, there's no way for VA officials to confirm the pain just on your reports. A lawyer can find more circumstantial evidence that could create a useful link.
Did you complain about the issue before? If your attorney can find any previous reports of a similar problem, they can begin working on a legal narrative that shows how long you've had the problem and that it didn't just begin.
If it's new medical evidence you need, personal injury attorneys can find medical professionals with claim systems experience and the ability to document evidence in ways that VA claims officials can understand without much guesswork. This is helpful because one big issue with VA medical exams is the long wait time and potential for rushed results, and having a non-VA medical team helping can ensure that the focus is on you, not rushing in the next veteran.
Contact a personal injury attorney to discuss your condition and VA claim potential.
