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MENTAL ILLNESS AND PSYCHIATRIC IMPAIRMENTS

Recent estimates state that half of the veterans who need mental health services actually receive them. Mental health services are vital in order to assist returning vets recover from their combat experiences and mental health issues related to their military service.

Mental health issues can manifest themselves as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and more. Eligibility for service-connected disability benefits for a psychological condition requires that a veteran have a medical diagnosis of mental illness, that said illness was caused by or aggravated during active military service, and that their symptoms persist today. 

If you are in need of immediate assistance, please call or text NVF for vet-to-vet assistance at 888.777.4443.

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)

One of five veterans of recent conflicts return with PTSD.

PTSD is typically diagnosed after exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America finds that PTSD can derive from:

  • Directly experiencing the traumatic events
  • Witnessing, in person, the traumatic events
  • Learning that the traumatic events occurred to a close family member or close friend
  • Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic events

PTSD benefits can be obtained for stressor events incurred during any period of service, and are not limited to combat. Eligibility for service-connected disability benefits for PTSD, requires that a veteran have a medical diagnosis of PTSD, evidence of an event that occurred during service in the military, and evidence, usually a medical expert opinion, that proves the event is the cause of the veteran’s PTSD.

ORTHOPEDIC INJURIES

Veterans often engage in physically grueling assignments while in service.  As a result, many veterans often suffer from orthopedic injuries after completing their period of service. Some of the most common orthopedic injuries include: 

  • Back
  • Joints
  • Pes Planus
  • Muscles

Orthopedic injuries, especially those related to military service, can be serious in nature and debilitating in both the short and long term. Eligibility for disability benefits requires that the
veteran establish:

  • An in-service event or injury
  • A current diagnosis of an orthopedic injury or condition, and
  • A nexus between the in-service event and your diagnosis

The VA evaluates veterans' orthopedic conditions by using specific criteria and it relies upon medical examinations to establish the severity of each disability.

AGVC prioritizes the concerns of disabled veterans and is committed to obtaining benefits for those suffering from orthopedic disabilities.

HEART DISEASE

Both ischemic heart disease, better known as coronary artery disease, and congenital heart disease are recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs as potential service-connected
impairments.

Specifically, veterans who develop ischemic heart disease and were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service do not have to prove a connection between their disease and service to be eligible to receive VA disability compensation.

While congenital heart disease is a genetic disease, to which some veterans may have been genetically predisposed, it can still be recognized as a service-connected condition with the VA if it becomes symptomatic during a veteran’s time in military service.

If you or a loved one served in the military and are now suffering from severe heart disease, please contact our office for a free consultation.

MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA (MST)

One in Four Women; One in One Hundred Men.

The definition of MST used by the VA comes from Federal law (Title 38 U.S. Code 1720D) and is "psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training." Sexual harassment is further defined as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character."

Please note that a recent decision in the U.S. Appeals Court states that “Board and Veterans Court may not rely on a veteran’s failure to report an in-service sexual assault to military authorities as pertinent evidence that the sexual assault did not occur.” There are other ways to prove MST.

If you need more immediate help, please call the Safe Helpline at 1-877-995-5247 to get confidential one-on-one help. Safe Helpline provides 24 hour a day, 7 day a week sexual assault support for the Department of Defense community.

HEARING LOSS

Hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears) as a result of loud noises, such as airplane engines or gunfire, are quite common. The VA awards disability compensation to veterans who can establish that their auditory problem was caused by service on the basis of direct service connection.

Eligibility requires evidence of an event in service that caused the condition, and a medical opinion linking the current hearing condition to that event in service.

Service connection for hearing problems is dependent upon the diagnosis of the condition and audiological testing. Veterans must provide a current diagnosis of a hearing condition from a licensed audiologist and the diagnosis is required to be based upon the Maryland CNC test and the puretone audiometric test.

Both tests need to be completed in order to satisfy the VA's requirements for service connection.

Know that the VA allows veterans to establish separate claims for hearing loss and tinnitus, entitling you to separate ratings and corresponding compensation benefits.

HYPERTENSION

Nearly one in three veterans have some form of hypertension.

The Department of Defense reports that a significant number of active service members are affected by hypertension. Know that hypertension begins to unfold as veterans age.

A systolic blood pressure of 140 or more and a diastolic blood pressure of 90 or more are required to meet the VA's definition of hypertension.

Additional medical conditions related to hypertension may also be considered service-connected, such as: Diabetes, Ischemic Heart Disease, and Sleep Apnea.

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI)

Traumatic Brain Injury, commonly called "TBI" refers to a condition where the brain is damaged because of a traumatic event that an individual has sustained in service. "Traumatic events" may be car accidents, gunshot wounds, falling and hitting your head, or other incidents that cause damage to the brain. In recent years, TBIs have been recognized as the signature injury stemming from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A significant amount of combat veterans suffer from TBI resulting from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), roadside bombs, and other explosives.

The symptoms of TBI are severely disabling and are life-altering. Veterans should understand that TBI is not given a single disability rating. Instead, the VA rates TBI based upon the residual symptoms and bodily functions that are affected because of the brain injury.

GULF WAR SYNDROME

Veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations during the first Gulf War or in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn are entitled to disability compensation from the VA for certain diagnosed, undiagnosed, and/or presumptive disorders. Gulf War Syndrome is not an actual condition, it is a catch-all term used by the VA to classify a group of seemingly unrelated symptoms that many veterans experienced after serving in the Gulf War. The symptoms classified as Gulf War Syndrome can include, but are not limited to, fatigue, headaches, memory problems, joint pain, diarrhea, indigestion, nerve conditions, skin conditions, respiratory conditions, PTSD, and many more. Symptoms can be different in each case.

A veteran is eligible for disability compensation for Gulf War Syndrome if all of the following requirements are met:

  • The diagnosed or undiagnosed conditions must appear either during active duty or prior to December 31, 2016 to a degree of 10 percent or more.
  • Your condition must have lasted for 6 months or more.
  • Your condition must be an undiagnosed illness, a multi-symptom illness (functional gastrointestinal disorders, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, etc.) or a Presumptive Disorder.
  • There must be no other cause for your condition than service in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations, which includes the following areas: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the U.A.E., Oman, Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman; the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea; and the airspace above these locations. Times of service in these locations are as follows: August 2, 1990 (the beginning of the first Gulf War) through 2011 (Operation New Dawn).

MIGRAINE HEADACHES

Migraine headaches can be absolutely debilitating, causing an intense throbbing pain in one spot of the head that can last for hours or even days in severe cases. The VA will provide disability benefits for veterans who experience migraine headaches that are caused by an in-service incident, caused by another service-connected impairment, or began while the veteran was still in service.

Two things are taken into account when VA rates migraines for disability compensation:

  • Frequency (how often they occur), and;
  • Severity (how bad they are).

In order for veterans to receive a proper rating, it is essential that their physician account for these two things in medical records and clearly annotate how the migraines affect the individual’s ability to work and function.

SURVIVOR BENEFITS | DEPENDENCY AND INDEMNITY COMPENSATION (DIC)

The VA provides dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for the veteran’s spouse and children after a veteran has passed away. DIC claims are held to the same standard as typical veterans disability claims, requiring that claimants prove the deceased veteran’s death was related to an in-service incident or a resultant service-connected condition.

A claimant may be awarded dependency and indemnity compensation from the VA if their related veteran was already receiving or was entitled to receive a service-connected rating of 100 percent for a continuous period of ten or more years before the time of his or her death.

TDIU (UNEMPLOYABILITY)

Individual Unemployability, commonly referred to as "TDIU" allows a veteran with a service-connected condition rated less than 100% to be rated at the 100% level because the condition makes the veteran unemployable. A veteran is “unemployable” if he or she is unable to maintain a regular, steady income due to the severity of their disabilities stemming from military service.

To qualify for TDIU, the veteran must provide proof of his or her employment history and have either:

  • a single condition rated 60% or higher that makes the veteran entirely unable to work, or;
  • a single condition rated 40% or higher with additional conditions that together with the first equal a total combined rating of 70% or more. Each of these conditions must
  • contribute to making the veteran unable to work in order to count towards the 70% rating.

VA requires proof to support a claim for TDIU which may include but is not limited to disability records showing evidence of the conditions and ratings to be considered, any medical evidence from the past supporting the claim that the considered conditions make the veteran unemployable, and employment history records that show proof of the veteran's inability to get or keep a gainful job.

Ideally, the veteran will be able to establish that despite their best efforts, they are unable to get a job or maintain a job because of the debilitating physical conditions.