Establishing a Disability – Veterans’ Disability Compensation Benefits

In our last blog, we discussed the “in service event” requirement that a veteran must establish in order to qualify for veterans’ disability compensation benefits.  This blog post will discuss another requirement of qualifying for those benefits: establishing a disability or disabilities.

How does VA define “disability”?

A disability is defined in 38 C.F.R. § 4.1 as “the average impairment in earning capacity” from a disease or injury.  Disabilities can be either physical, psychological, or both.

For most veterans, disabilities include both injuries and diseases/conditions.  Some common disabilities that may be associated with military service include back and neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

The different types of disabilities that may qualify a veteran for some percentage of disability compensation benefits are too numerous to list in their entirety, so the list above is certainly not intended to complete.  Any disease, condition, or injury that impairs you in some manner may potentially be a disability.

Establishing a disability

Sometimes, veterans may need medical evidence to establish that their conditions qualify as disabilities.   In certain circumstances, the Department of Veterans Affairs can be required to provide a veteran a medical examination (known as a “C&P exam”) when it is necessary to reach a decision in the claim.

If you have questions about whether an injury or condition that you have may qualify as a current disability or whether the VA might be required to provide you a C & P examination, please feel free to call our office or complete the “Need Help” form on this page for a free consultation with one of our attorneys that handles veterans disability claims.

The “nexus” requirement

Once a veteran has established an in service event and a current disability, the last requirement is to establish a nexus between the in service event and the current disability.  That requirement will be covered in our final blog post in this series.

Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims.  He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families.

You can subscribe to his Veterans Disability channel on YouTube.

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I recommend Travis for an Veteran that has been dealing with constant denial with claims. He also , cover cost for my nexus letter when I ran into financial troubles , that helped me win my case.edwin Cook
I highly recommend Travis Studdard to represent anyone looking to help with VA claims. The VA is very difficult to deal with when attempting to get benefits from service connected injuries, at least that's my experience. Travis and his team knows the VA system and the legal procedures to help you get what you deserve. Travis was kind and passionate with me throughout this process and therefore, I highly recommend this law firm to represent DAV's.Terry Hembree
Such an awesome team. They spoke to me like a person and helped me through every decision with knowledge.Kevin Collett
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Amazing staff, very informed along with excellent communication. Within just a few weeks of work, Mr Studdard was able to make things happen that normally take years! Highly recommendJacob Sylvester
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I highly recommend Jason Perkins and the Team at Perkins and Studdard. Jason did a wonderful job on my case and actually got me better results than what I was hoping for. He was always so patient with me and made sure I was understanding every process in my case. He never seemed to mind me asking questions and always gave me straightforward answers. My phone calls to him or his staff were promptly answered or returned and everyone was always so helpful, personable, and respectful. He kept me updated on all the details of my case and sent helpful videos for me to review that were very informative.Dru Vaughn
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