What is Service Connection?

Many VA cases are denied for what is known as lack of service connection. In fact, most denials arise for this very reason. But what is service connection? In general service connection means that a veteran has a currently diagnosed disability caused by an event or injury in service. However, service connection becomes more complex as one understands what is behind service connection related claims. The first thing to understand about service connection is that it is a legal status proven by medical evidence. It is a legal status, meaning that the law recognizes the disability as incurred by an event or injury in service. Proven by medical evidence means that a qualified health care professional must assess and opine on the causal factor of the current disability. Without proper medical evidence you cannot prove service connection. Second, service connection is not a one size fits all situation. There are different ways of proving service connection. Some conditions give rise to presumptive service connection, such as agent orange. Other conditions could be secondary service connected. This means that an original service connection claim causes another disability. These are just two of the examples of different ways to prove service connection. To get a complete assessment of your service connection issues contact the experts at Vet Defender. Schedule an Appointment.