Veteran Disability Benefits: Are You Eligible?
If you are a veteran on active or inactive duty, you may be eligible for disability benefits. However, your eligibility depends on certain circumstances, and knowing when you are eligible is important. You can hire a lawyer to help you understand whether your situation makes you eligible for these benefits and which benefits are available.
When Disability Benefits Apply
For veterans to become eligible for disability services and benefits, they must have been on duty and training, active or inactive. The system may accept some ailments and conditions or injuries if the soldier got hurt while training and became disabled. These ailments may include repetitive motion injuries with wrists, hips, or legs, among other conditions that require frequent doctor’s visits.
Meanwhile, other wounds may have resulted from lying in wait until training while in the field. These veterans would need to see the doctor often, with proper documentation to show disability. Veterans are deemed eligible for disability benefits when they are deemed at least ten percent disabled.
The assessment of the injuries occurs in increments of ten; the more the harm, the greater the benefits. Once the individual is eligible, getting the benefits begins with official documentation proving their disability. Then, there will be a background check to decipher how the injury occurred: during active duty, inactive duty while training, or in other ways.
When Veterans Are Disqualified From Getting Disability Benefits
Veterans who have been dishonorably discharged or became disabled after their service had ended are not eligible for benefits. Nevertheless, they may be qualified for standard disability with another company, provided they have been working since they left service. Also, if the veteran’s injury occurred while they were inactive or not training for their service, they will not be eligible.
These instances are just some of many that may disqualify a veteran from disability benefits. There are several other requirements to get disability benefits; failure to meet these means ineligibility. If you are unsure whether you qualify for the disability benefits, you should contact officials with authority for more details. During this strenuous process, a VA disability attorney can assist.
Veteran Disability Benefits
Veterans are entitled to disability benefits provided they meet the requirements for receiving them. One of these requirements is that they must have been injured during active or inactive training duty. Additionally, the soldier must have gotten the injury that led to the disability while their service contract still remained intact.
Once a veteran’s contract service has ended, they typically are regarded to be ineligible outside of unique circumstances. For instance, a veteran may qualify if injured while in service, but the effect did not show until later. However, this disability must be deemed to affect the veteran by at least ten percent.
The benefits a veteran receives typically depend on the severity of their disability and their marital status. It also depends on whether they have children or parents to whom the veteran provides monetary funds. Meanwhile, various programs and special circumstances exist that could provide more than the normal disability compensation.
Besides the general compensation, a veteran could receive additional funds if they qualify for more than one program. To acquire these disability benefits, the veteran should contact their local VA office. Then, they must wait until the process is completed and their application is approved.
Conclusion: Getting Legal Assistance
Once you have fulfilled the general requirements, you should complete the required applications and paperwork. If, after everything, your application was denied, a qualified and experienced lawyer can explain the next steps to you. “If the steps are too confusing or complex to do alone, your lawyer can assist you, ensuring your rights are protected,” advises attorney Jan Dils, founder of Fight 4 Vets.
