Except for the most obvious and carefully reported incidents, it's hard to prove that injuries are related to military service. Many veterans leave the service with pains or other conditions that they may think to be temporary, but months or years down the line, the more permanent and life-changing the conditions become. If you're having trouble getting medical assistance or compensation because of a condition you think is related to military service, here are a few angles to cover with your evidence and ways that a lawyer can help.
Find a Connected Incident
Veteran Affairs (VA) disability provides healthcare and monetary compensation for veterans who were injured or otherwise afflicted with a condition because of military service. Such conditions are called service-connected, and military service covers a lot of scenarios.
If you're affected while on patrol duty outside of your normal job, injured at the workplace, injured during combat, hurt during leave, or suffer some sort of disease in foreign or domestic territory, it counts. The hard part is creating that military-related link.
For physical injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, you hopefully have documentation to provide. Military medical record evidence during your military days would be the best form of evidence, but if you even have an incident report or service record showing that you were involved in an attack or fell down stairs, it still counts as a significant service-connected link.
If you don't have any connecting evidence, it's time to find people to vouch for you. Get in contact with your chain of command, other people who worked with you, and even people outside of your direct military unit who know about your condition. They can help get the ball rolling as far as showing your injury is connected to your service.
Understand Exposure, Disease, and Other Non-Impact Damage
Exposure to substances leading to brain injury can be harder to prove without documentation, but you could be helping other veterans as well by going through the research. A lawyer can help you by not only looking up the substance but also by finding other veterans with exposure and talking to medical professionals who have seen similar symptoms.
Without a pattern or a known substance, it can be difficult to pin the responsibility to the military and the VA. For example, tumors in the sella turcica occur naturally and may be safe enough to avoid surgery, but it's hard to tell if they affect the endocrine system by pressing against it or being connected to the endocrine system.
The tumor's effects on the endocrine system is just one part of the service connection, but how do you prove where the tumor came from? Tumors in the sella turcica occur in a large part of the population regardless of military service, and it isn't uncommon for a VA claim to be denied with nothing but the report of a tumor.
At this point, it's purely medical and argumentative. You will have to prove that this tumor or some other brain-related condition leads to injury and is related to injury. Don't let the argument overwhelm you, as not even the VA expects you to argue the point on your own. Click here to find more information and contact a brain injury lawyer to discuss your condition and to find the right documentation to prove your case.
Share16 January 2017
While I took a few business classes in college, I left early to start my own business. I thought I had the knowledge I needed to become a great business owner and was eager to start my business. Soon, I had a new business that was actually performing pretty well in sales. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken any law courses in college, and I soon realized I made a few mistakes when starting my business that could cause me some legal trouble. Thankfully, a great business lawyer helped me correct my mistakes before I had any legal problems, but I then decided to take those business law courses. I want to help business owners and anyone else who would like to learn more about the law by starting a blog where I will share what I have learned and will continue to learn. I hope I can help you!