1. Get a Benefits Eligibility Evaluation
Getting a Benefits Eligibility Evaluation is the single most important step you can take in determining what you are eligible for and filing a successful claim.
In order to award a claim, and know the appropriate rating it should be awarded at, the VA needs evidence to support that claim. Evidence can come from your active duty medical records, current medical records, in person evaluation and in some cases, your testimony or the testimony of an eye witness to an event/injury (this is known as a “buddy letter”).
Simply filing for something because you believe you should be awarded it, isn’t enough. The VA needs to be able to verify that not only do you have a specific disability, but that it is related to, because of, or happened during your active duty service. This is where getting a Benefits Eligibility Evaluation from a Health Care Professional can prove invaluable. They have the medical knowledge and expertise to be able to review your current and active duty medical evidence as well as do an evaluation on your current symptoms in order to tell you what you most likely qualify for and therefore what you should be filing for. Not only that, but they can also outline for you what additional medical evidence you may need in order to validate your claim.
This could save you from throwing away hundreds or even thousands of dollars on needless trips to the Drs, medical evaluations and medical opinions that won’t help substantiate a claim.
3 Essential elements to be Eligible for a VA Disability Benefits
Medical Diagnosis of your disability condition
The Medical Diagnosis of the disability condition in a medical record.
Nexus evidence between the disability and active-duty military service
Credible Medical Nexus Evidence between the diagnosed disability condition and the veteran’s active-duty military service ( This is for Direct Service Connection) OR how the diagnosed disability condition is “proximately due to” or “aggravated by” another service-connected disability (Secondary Service Connection)
Severity of Symptoms
Current Symptoms of the disability condition that negatively affect your work, life, or social functioning.