To receive veterans benefits for a physical or mental impairment, you must establish a service connection to your health condition.
At the law firm of Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD, our lawyers will fight to help you get all of the benefits you deserve. With offices in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., we handle appeals of disability claims for veterans nationwide.
How Do I Establish a Service Connection for My Disability?
VA provides compensation to veterans who have a disability or disease that is related to his or her period of military service. A disability or disease related to a veteran's period of military service is otherwise known as service connection or a service-connected disability. There are several bases, according to VA law, for veterans to establish entitlement to service-connected disability.
For example, VA law will entitle a veteran to an award of service connection if he or she can establish the following: (1) an in-service disability, injury or incident; (2) a current disability; and, (3) a medical link between the current disability and the in-service disability, injury or incident. The law does not require a veteran to demonstrate that he or she was diagnosed with a disability or disease while in the military, but rather that any current disability or disease is attributable to his military service, including the performance of a military occupational specialty.
There are other bases for establishing service connection. A veteran may be entitled to service connection if his or her disability, although not diagnosed during service, manifests itself within what VA recognizes a "presumptive" period in the case of certain diseases or illnesses. Moreover, a veteran may be entitled to service connection for a particular disease or disability if medical evidence establishes that the condition is secondary to, or aggravated by, an existing disability or disease for which VA has determined to be related to military service.
Our lawyers will advise you how to establish a service connection based on the facts of your case. Our firm has successfully represented more than 1,000 veterans, winning substantial lifelong financial and medical benefits and, for many, large retroactive cash awards.
For More Information
If you have been denied veterans benefits due to a lack of service connection for your disability, call 800-544-9144 / 800-250-7286 or complete the contact form on this website.
