The Types of Disability Benefits Available to Injured Veterans

If you have been injured while actively serving in the U.S. armed forces, you should consider all of your financial options, including applying for veterans’ disability benefits.  These benefits are available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) and are subject to two primary disability programs, which depend upon whether your disability is service related or not.

For service connected disabilities, benefits can be awarded for physical or emotional conditions that occurred as a result of active military service.  In order to qualify for service related disability benefits, you must also show that an incident that occurred during active service specifically caused your disability or, that there is a medical nexus between your disability and/or condition and your active service duties.  In addition, you must have been discharged under honorable circumstances and also, be diagnosed with a service connected disability in order to qualify for these benefits.  While a service connected disability need not derive from actual combat duty, it must have originated in the service or be service related in some form or another.  Moreover, some disabilities can still be considered service connected, such as post-traumatic stress disorder arising from active duty that later causes depression and other emotional disturbances.

For non-service connected disabilities, you may still be entitled to receive benefits from the SSA.  Known as a non-service connected pension, this may allow you recover benefits even if your injuries are not service connected.  Specifically, in order to obtain this type of benefit, you must have served in active duty during a war period, you must have a severe and permanent disability, and you must also meet certain financial criteria.

In general, there are certain legislative presumptions that give veterans a leg up in prevailing on their disability benefit claims.  For instance, if a Vietnam War veteran is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus to a ten percent or more degree of impairment, it will be presumed that said condition is service-connected. Specifically, these presumptions are especially benefit veterans who became inflicted with certain diseases that are common among people who served in a particular war or during a specific period of time.

For more information on the above, give the Sanger Law Office a call now to learn more about your legal options, your rights and responsibilities, as well as how we can help you get the compensation that you deserve.  We at the Sanger Law Office can review your application for SSDI benefits prior to submission, assist you in submitting a request for reconsideration of a denial, or represent you in a formal appeal of your denial of SSDI benefits. Ms. Sanger provides thorough analysis of her clients’ medical records and zealous advocacy to assist her clients in obtaining the benefits they need to care for themselves and their families.  The Sanger Law Office is centrally located in Lawrence, KS and represents those denied social security disability benefits in Kansas and Missouri. If you have been denied SSDI disability benefits or just have questions about your rights to SSDI, you should contact Danielle Sanger today for a free consultation at 785-979-4353.  We look forward to helping you get the benefits that you deserve.

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