The VA disability compensation provides an opportunity for tax-free monthly payments. If you are a victim of a service-connected condition, you may be eligible for compensation. A service-connected condition speaks to any illness or injury that was caused by—or got worse because of—your active military service. Let's dig a little deeper.
What are Service Connected Disabilities?
A service-connected injury or illness is one that is caused or aggravated (made worse) by military service. Service connecting your disability is a key part of filing a claim for VA benefits. There are five types of service connection:
A direct service connection means your condition began during or after military service and was caused by service-related activities or environmental exposures.
Service connection through aggravation when your condition is pre-existed to service and was aggravated, during service or due to another service-connected condition.
A secondary service connection means that you have a disability that was caused or aggravated by another service-connected condition.
A presumptive service connection is granted when the VA confirms that certain conditions were caused by the circumstances of certain veterans. Unlike other service connections, there is nor requirement to submit a medical nexus explaining the link between your service and condition to get compensation.
So, What is a Presumptive Service Connection?
It is the presumption that you were exposed to factors that could cause chronic, tropical, or prisoner-of-war related diseases, and diseases related to exposure to Agent Orange or ionizing radiation, while in service, even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service.
If you have a specific illness and served in an area with exposure to certain toxins, the VA has a list of presumptive conditions in which you may eligible for benefits.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has specific rules in place that limit benefits to service-related conditions. If there are disabilities present, there must be a clear in-service connection, otherwise the VA will deny the claim.
There is, however, an exception: the VA’s presumptive conditions list. With this list, if you suffer from a condition on the list, you don’t have to prove an in-service link, and it doesn’t have to appear on your service medical records. Instead, the VA will presume that the illness is service-related if you meet the criteria. Disabilities of this nature can appear after your service time has ended, and you would still be entitled to compensation.
Important to note, is that for many of these conditions, symptoms must appear within one year of your active duty release, and you must have 90 days of service time, along with a VA disability rating of at least 10%.
Here’s a look at some of these presumptive conditions:
Presumptive conditions for former Prisoners Of War (POWs)
Former POWs are in a special situation since the presumptive conditions don’t have to surface within the first year after completing service. They must have a disability rating of at least 10% to receive benefits, and the VA must believe the condition was related to time spent as a POW. Regardless of how long POWs were in captivity, they are eligible for benefits if they suffer from any of the following:
heart disease
osteoporosis
stroke
anxiety
psychosis
a dysthymic disorder
post-traumatic osteoarthritis
If held captive for 30 days or more they may receive compensation for conditions such as:
chronic dysentery
pellagra
malnutrition
beriberi
helminthiasis
cirrhosis of the liver
irritable bowel syndrome
peptic ulcer disease
Radiation exposure during service
Depending on the locations in which veterans served in they may be eligible for a particular presumptive condition benefit. Military veterans with exposure to radiation during their service time could be eligible for VA benefits.
POWs held near Hiroshima or Nagasaki during World War II, for example, or anyone less than ten miles off the coast of the bombing sites during the operation, were seen as eligible.
Conditions covered by veterans with exposure to radiation:
Cancer of the: brain, bone, liver, stomach, breast, thyroid, pharynx, salivary gland, small intestine, pancreas, colon cancer, and more
leukemia (except chronic lymphocytic leukemia)
There is no time limit on these conditions, and the 10% disability rating is not required.
Camp Lejeune Toxic Water
If a veteran lived in, or worked at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp in Lejeune, North Carolina, between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987, they may have been exposed to contaminated drinking water. With this in mind, those veterans could be eligible for VA benefits if they develop leukemia, aplastic anemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple myeloma.
Any veterans who served at the camp starting on January 1, 1957, may also receive free healthcare as well as those suffering from various cancers, renal toxicity, scleroderma, myelodysplastic syndromes, or hepatic steatosis are eligible.
The Vietnam War and Agent Orange
If a veteran served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 and are presumed to have come into contact with Agent Orange, they may receive VA benefits if they develop:
AL amyloidosis
B-cell leukemia
Type II diabetes
Hodgkin lymphomaA
Heart disease
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Parkinson’s disease
Prostate cancer
Various respiratory cancers
Soft-tissue sarcomas
Several illnesses came from the war in Vietnam, but there are benefits available if you’ve developed a condition.
Gulf War Illnesses
Different illnesses have hindered Gulf War veterans, and there is coverage for the individuals who served in this conflict.
For eligibility, veterans must have served in Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf of Aden, Bahrain, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, or the Red Sea between August 2, 1990 and December 31, 2016.
Illnesses from these locations are clearly defined as individuals who have chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or irritable bowel syndrome for at least six months after deployment are eligible.
The Gulf War Syndrome is an illness that doctors cannot clinically diagnose. According to the VA, there is no known cause for the symptoms, but it’s a presumptive condition and symptoms must occur before December 31, 2021, to remain eligible for benefits.
Receiving your benefits
In addition to the listed conditions, chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis are covered by VA benefits if you develop symptoms within one year of discharge. Also, if you received an ALS diagnosis, you’re covered regardless of how much time has passed.
Presumptive conditions, therefore, could be a way to collect compensation, even if your disability appeared after your active duty period ended.
File a claim to get the money you’re entitled to receive.
Veterans Claim Servants can help you get this money by developing a free personalized claim strategy to meet your needs.
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