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Winning a VA disability compensation claim requires a lot of evidence. When determining whether a veteran is eligible for service-connected pay, VA looks at their military records, medical records, personal statements, and other factors. Below you’ll know about the different veterans evidence to support your disability rating.
What Is VA’s Standard Of Proof?
The burden of proof in service connection cases establishes that the veteran’s condition is “as least as likely as not” caused by their military service. In other words, there must be a 50% possibility that the veteran’s ailment is related to their service, and if there is a 50-50 tie, VA must choose the veteran.
What Do Veterans Have To Prove?
The kinds of VA claim evidence a veteran requires vary depending on the type of claim they are making with the VA. Veterans must demonstrate that their ailment is service-connect to obtain VA disability compensation, known as service connection. In most cases, you need to show three things to verify your service connection and require veterans evidence to support your disability rating:
- That they have a current, diagnosed handicap.
- That they had an in-service incident, accident, or symptom; and
- That they have a medical nexus connecting their current diagnosis to the in-service incident.
- Medical documentation or other proof that a veteran’s impairment has worsene may be requir for applications for a higher rating of a service-connect disability.
Different Types Of Evidence
Below you’ll learn about military Service veterans evidence to support your disability rating.
Service records, which can demonstrate a record of an event or the beginning of symptoms while serving, can be crucial pieces of VA claim evidence for service connection claims. These are among the most popular and influential forms of service documents that can be use to support a VA claim:
DD 214
When service members are release from service, they are give a DD 214 as separation paperwork. This document is crucial VA claim evidence since it shows a veteran’s discharge status, which is need to establish whether or not the veteran is entitle to benefits. A DD 214 also lists any medals or commendations the veteran has received and their service dates. Although DD214s do not always mention every area where the veteran serve, if they do, the document can be use to verify that the veteran serve in that location.
Service Medical Records
If a veteran suffered an injury or sickness while serving and now claims service-connected compensation for that illness, service medical records might be crucial evidence in a VA claim. These can involve trips to the emergency room, a clinic, or even a private physician.
Service Personnel Records.
These documents may include documentation of various accomplishments, educational records from your time in the service, and evaluations that may reveal, for example, that you missed training due to illness or that you performed poorly.
There are many ways a veteran can obtain these documents as evidence. A veteran can:
- Write to the VA Regional Office and ask for the records.
- To request relevant records, fill out VA Form 180.
- Request their records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Privacy Act.