Three Requirements You Must Prove to Receive Service-Connection Disability Compensation

Aside from qualifying as a veteran under the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) standards, you must prove that your injury or illness was suffered or contracted in connection to your service, to receive compensation. If order to prove service-connection, you must prove:

1. You have a diagnosed disability;
2. Your disability was contracted or suffered in the course of service; AND
3. A link between the disability and being in service.

Often, the most successful evidence is a medical opinion. It is the VA’s duty to provide the applicant assistance in attaining medical documentation.

Requirement 1: Have A Diagnosed Disability
Though this first requirement seems obvious, the disability must be currently affecting your earning capacity and you must have documentation of it. Chronic pain, without a formal diagnostic name, may be sufficient for compensation, so long as medical evidence corroborates it.

For more information on this requirement, check out our post on evidence of your diagnosed disability.

Requirement 2: The Disability was Contracted or Suffered In-Service
The disability must have been contracted or suffered during the veteran’s time in the armed forces. However, as we discuss in this post on compensation, the illness or injury need not be caused from the battlefield. Rather, it must simply result from an event that falls in between the time the veteran enlisted and was discharged.

For more information on this requirement, check out our post on in-service connection here.

Requirement 3: Connection Between Disability and Being In-Service
Your disability must be “as likely as not” caused by your time in the armed forces. A treating physician may issue this statement and the VA will provide a medical professional to perform and draft a Compensation and Pension Examination (C&P Exam) for you. You may still furnish your own report if you do not agree with the VA-provided doctor.

If you need assistance with disability eligibility or filing with confidence, please contact us today at (855) 312-5575.