If the VA determines you are eligible for disability benefits (see eligibility requirements here), then your disability compensation will be determined through a schedule for rating disabilities. The schedule is determined by what the average civilian would lose in earnings due to the associated disability. The rating is determined “upon the average impairments of earning capacity resulting from such injuries … Read More
What Constitutes Willful Misconduct for Disability Ineligibility?
Willful misconduct is an important term to know when determining disability eligibility. The Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) will not accept an application for disability if the illness or injury arose out of “willful misconduct.” What Is Willful Misconduct, Then? Willful misconduct is defined as “an act involving conscious wrongdoing or known prohibited action” that “involves deliberate or intentional … Read More
I Have “Bad Papers,” Can I Still Receive VA Disability Benefits?
Eligibility for the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) disability is dependent upon your discharge category. To receive disability benefits, you must be “discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.” To learn more about discharge codes and their effect on receiving benefits, read our blog post here. Armed service members who were discharged honorably or generally with honorable conditions … Read More
Military Service Discharge Categories and Their Effects on VA Disability Benefits
If you’ve read our post on veteran qualifications for the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) disability benefits, then you know being discharged “under conditions other than dishonorable” is a major requirement. But what exactly does discharge “under conditions other than dishonorable” entail? A military discharge is simply a release from military obligations for an armed services member. The military … Read More
I Need VA Disability Benefits, But Do I Qualify as a Veteran?
Filing for disability with the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) can be a stressful process and legally complex. The first step, though, is to determine eligibility based on the VA’s definition of a “veteran.” In this blog post, we will help you break down that definition and provide greater understanding. I served in the military. Does that automatically make … Read More