“Hi, I’m Cecilia Ton. I’m an attorney at Woods and Woods. I’m going to talk to you today about the different types of service connections available for VA disability benefits.”
Direct service connections
“When VA grants service connection for a disability, it’s acknowledging that the condition is related to a veteran’s time in the military. Let’s start off by discussing the most common type of service connection, which is direct service connection.
“To prove a claim for direct service connection, a veteran will need to show three elements. First, that they have a current disability. Second, that there was an in-service injury, event, illness, or incurrence, and third, that there’s a nexus between the two.
“Oftentimes, a veteran will submit evidence of a diagnosis to satisfy the current disability element. The second element of direct service connection is often referred to as the ‘in-service element.’ Many times, VA will look to a veteran’s service records, both the personnel records and the treatment records to look for evidence of a disability during service. In the service treatment records, there are often notations of pain or an accident that incurred during service. In the personnel records, sometimes they’ll note limited duty profiles that can help show that a veteran was suffering from a disability during service. However, if the service records are silent as to any notations of a disability, lay evidence can also be helpful to satisfy this element through statements from the veteran and others corroborating that in in-service event occurred.
“Finally, the nexus element is typically established by medical evidence linking the current disability to whatever happened during military service. These statements can be obtained from a veteran’s treating physician who’s familiar with their condition, or from a VA examiner following a compensation and pension examination.”
Presumptive service connections
“The next type of service connection available is presumptive service connection. Here, the VA presumes that certain conditions are related to a veteran’s military service. For example, if a veteran is diagnosed with one of the presumptive conditions within one year of military discharge and it also manifests to a 10% rating or higher during that time, VA will grant presumptive service connection without requiring the veteran to submit evidence of nexus.
“More recently, VA has added presumptive conditions for Gulf War Era Veterans who were exposed to various toxins like burn pits, as well as those veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune where they were exposed to contaminated drinking water.
“Another area where we often see presumptive service connection is for Vietnam War era veterans. Once VA determines that a veteran has been exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam, it will grant presumptive service connection if the condition that the Veterans files for is on the list of presumptive conditions set out by the VA.”
Secondary service connections
“The third type of service connection is secondary service connection. Here, instead of linking a current disability to military service, a veteran is able to get service connection for a non-service-connected disability if it has been caused by a service-connected condition.
“Here’s a common example that we see at Woods and Woods. If a veteran is service connected for diabetes and later on, she develops peripheral neuropathy in her extremities or diabetic retinopathy in her eyes, VA will grant secondary service connection for those conditions if she can submit nexus evidence proving that they were caused by her service-connected diabetes.”
Aggravated service connections
“Causation is not always required, though, which brings us to the fourth type of service connection — aggravation theory. If the evidence shows that a non-service-connected disability has been aggravated by a service-connected disability, then service connection can be granted in those cases.
“What VA is going to want to know here is that the aggravation was the result of the service-connected disability as opposed to the natural progression of that non-service-connected disability. Even if a disability is clearly documented on a veteran’s entrance examination, VA has a duty to prove that the condition was not aggravated by military service.
“If your condition is service connected on a basis of aggravation, please note that your condition will be rated a bit differently than normal. What VA is going to have to do is establish a baseline rating for your condition, which looks at the severity of the condition before the aggravation occurred. Then, it’s going to assign a rating for the severity of the condition after the aggravation. It’ll then compare the ratings, take the difference, and that will be the rating assigned.”
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1151 service connections
“The last type of service connection available is often referred to as an 1151 claim because the rules are laid out in section 1151 of the United States Code. Rather than linking a claimed disability to military service or another service-connected disability, under section 1151 a veteran is able to be service connected for a disability that arose as a result of negligent VA care or treatment.
“Medical evidence is extremely important in the 1151 cases because the veteran has to show that the disability they developed was unforeseeable from the type of care that they received at the VA facility.”
How Woods and Woods can help
“Regardless of the type of service connection that will work for your case, all claims for service connection can be filed on the VA form 21-526EZ, or the supplemental claim form, depending on whether you filed for service connection for the disability in the past.
“Filing these claims and appealing denied decisions is a large part of what we do on a day-to-day basis at Woods and Woods. If you need help navigating the claims process or filing a claim or an appeal, give us a call for a free consultation.”
Talk to Us About Your Claim:
(812) 426-7200
Cecilia Ton
VA disability lawyer
Woods and Woods
VA Accreditation Number: 49993
