Understanding Basic VA Benefits

Thom Stoddert

Never inflate which benefits you may have earned or why you are qualified to receive them. Currently there is talk of rejecting claims that lack rational or legal basis before they get to any VA Regional Office.  Claims that the VA has wasted countless hours and dollars responding to, may no longer be considered in the future, so VA may have more time to work valid claims .

 

As an example: I was once asked by a veteran to file a claim for diabetes secondary to the Agent Orange (A/O). After driving twenty-five miles and wasting several hours, I learned he had never been directly exposed to A/O, but he did think his father may have been in Viet Nam. I also learned that his father was the only adult male on both sides of this vet’s family who did not have diabetes. Was this an appropriate claim to file with the VA? This veteran did not even have the most basic understanding needed for his claim.

There is also the case of a veteran who supported his claim for dental care by exaggerating (actually outright lied) that he was combat medic in Viet Nam. It was explained to him that dental care is more of a hospital issue than it is a claimable issue for compensation in 99% of cases, and that having been a medic in Viet Nam, even if it was documented in his DD-214, was not appropriate evidence in his case. 

Again, he was wasting my time and the VA’s by trying to push through something he was not eligible for, nor did he have any evidence for the benefit being sought. I have a suspicion he already knew this but was trying to manipulate me to get what he wanted. 

We all know the VA is an overloaded bureaucracy, but it can be dealt with all by your self without lawyers and congressional representatives. All it takes is a little understanding of some basic concepts:

1) Service-connection of an injury or disease is granted when there is evidence of it having been incurred in the service or arising during military service. The condition must  be currently present before it receives a compensable level of rating percentage. Only a VA Regional Office can confer this legal status on a claim.

2) Compensation is the money payable for a chronic medical injury or disease that was incurred in the service or as a result of military service when it has been granted the status of service-connection.

3)   Pension (non-service pension) is a benefit for eligible veterans with war-time service and proven financial needs. There are requirements for proof of financial hardship. The evidence must  also show these vets are disabled from non-service connected medical conditions.

4) Dental issues may be compensated (granted service connection) and given treatment when there is evidence of jawbone loss or tooth loss due to trauma in the service. Normal tooth decay is almost never service connectable. However, routine dental treatment can be provided by a VA medical facility based on the space available.

5) Other medical conditions that have been incurred because of a service-connected condition or made worse by a service-connected condition, may also be granted

the status of service-connection and compensation paid.

6) A high rating percentage granted for service-connected conditions, can result in further benefits to the veteran and his family. These may be educational, medical and/or additional compensation.

7) Consideration of a disability is based on how it affects the whole person in their social and occupational efforts and a percentage is applied by the use of a standardized Rating Schedule that is a part of federal law.

Everything is focused on the evidence and what it shows. There must be evidence of a disease or injury having been incurred in service. There must be evidence of that condition existing now. There must be evidence that the present condition is linked to that injury or disease that was incurred in the military.