“Today we’re going to talk about permanent disability for lung conditions and how that can impact your veterans disability benefits.
“Hi, my name is Krystal Lechner. I’m an attorney with Woods and Woods. We’re a veterans disability law firm located in Evansville, Indiana, and we practice across the nation.”
Lung conditions in veterans
“If you served in the military and have breathing problems or a persistent cough, or you get out of breath easily as you’re doing activities, you may have one of the many respiratory conditions that impact your lungs.
“Damage to your respiratory system can come in many ways. The most common and oftentimes the first diagnosis that a veteran with a lung condition receives is asthma. Asthma manifests itself as tightness in the chest and oftentimes you notice it because you’re having difficulty doing your normal daily activities.
“Another common respiratory condition is chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis is usually a nagging cough. That’s the thing that gets you to the doctor. But chronic bronchitis is more than a cold. It’s inflammation around your trachea.
“Another lung condition is COPD. COPD is in the family of chronic bronchitis but it’s a different condition that can have a significant impact on your veterans disability benefits because it’s of a more permanent nature.
“A very common condition that our veterans have related to these lung conditions is sleep apnea. If you go to bed at night, you are in bed all night, but you don’t feel rested when you wake up, you may be suffering from sleep apnea.
“Another condition that is very common amongst our veterans that we help is chronic sinusitis. You get multiple sinus infections a year. You’re constantly having to cough, and all of these symptoms are very similar.”
How lung conditions in veterans are diagnosed
“Each of these conditions are different, but they are often diagnosed using the same device. This device requires you to take a big inhale and blow out as hard as you can. There are two different factors that the VA uses from this test.
“One is called the FEV1, and this is important because this ratio is how the VA rates your condition. The FEV1 is how much maximum air you can blow out in one second.
“The other measurement is the FCV, and this is how much air you can blow out after taking a full breath in.
“The VA takes these two measurements and that’s often what they use to rate lung conditions. Even if you have multiple lung conditions, because a lot of these symptoms overlap and can lead into other conditions — for example someone with asthma often has chronic sinusitis and that oftentimes develops into chronic bronchitis — even if you have multiple lung conditions, the VA is only going to rate you for one condition. That’s why it’s important to get a proper diagnosis and when you go to your exam to give your best effort and to tell your examiner all of your symptoms.”
“Woods & Woods was God sent. They were able to get me to where I wanted to be on my VA claims and they never kept me wondering. Always communicated and made sure things were done on time and correctly. Thanks a million and I will always recommend [Woods and Woods] to any soldier I come in contact with.”
L.W., Army veteran from Georgia
From a Google review for Woods & Woods
How Woods and Woods can help
“Why am I telling you this? Because lung conditions are complex, and we want to make sure that you get the rating that you’re entitled to.
“At Woods and Woods, we handle these cases all the time. Give us a call or visit our website. We’d be happy to help you.”
Talk to Us About Your Claim:
(812) 426-7200
Krystal Lechner
VA disability attorney
Woods & Woods
Krystal Lechner earned her law degree from Indiana University. Her prior experience includes civil litigation and corporate in-house counsel. She joined Woods and Woods in 2018.
