You can file a VA disability claim if you have a disability due to a service-related injury or illness. The VA disability program provides monthly payments for service-connected conditions such as illnesses or injuries that were caused by or worsened by active military service. For you to receive VA disability compensation, you must file a claim and prove that you have a disease or injury (condition) that affects your mind or body, and you served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.
How do you file a VA disability claim?
You can file a VA disability claim online, by mail using an Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits (VA Form 21-526EZ), in person at the nearest VA regional office, or by fax. An accredited VA attorney can advise you and help you through the claim application process. VA advises claimants intending to file disability benefits in paper form to submit an intent to file form first as they gather the required evidence. Early filing of an “intent to file form” allows the claimant to get an earlier effective date, which allows the claimant to get retroactive payments (compensation that starts at a point in the past). The effective dates for online application are set automatically when you begin filing the claim form, even when you don’t submit immediately. However, you must submit your claim within 365 days for the effective days to be valid.
Once you file a disability claim, VA may send you a letter asking for more information. You can authorize VA to gather evidence required to process your claim, such as military service records, Social Security benefits information, and medical records from federal facilities. For them to obtain your health records, you need to provide the name of the facility that treated you and the treatment dates. They may also schedule a health exam for you or seek a medical opinion from a healthcare provider. However, for quick processing of their claim, VA advises claimants to submit as much evidence as possible.
If you are filing your claim online, you’ll need to submit your evidence along with your claim. The system allows you to upload your medical evidence and other supporting documents at the end of the disability compensation form. You can also provide more information later. However, if you are filing a fully developed claim, VA will pull the claim from the fully developed system and process it as a standard claim.
When you file a claim for disability compensation, you’ll also need to submit the following forms:
- An application for automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment (VA form 21-4502)
- An application for adaptive equipment—motor vehicle (VA form 10-1394)
- An application for annual clothing allowance (VA form 10-8678)
VA allows you to submit all evidence within a year from the date they receive your claim, and issues a decision within 94.8 days. Disability claims are classified based on the time the injury or illness occurred as follows:
- In-service disability claim- You got ill or injured during your military service.
- Pre-service disability claim- An illness or injury you had before joining the military worsened from service
- Post-service disability claim- you suffer a disability related to active-duty service, which appeared after the end of your service
Some VA disability benefits recognized conditions include:
- Long-lasting Chronic back pain resulting in a current diagnosed back disability
- Breathing problems resulting from a current lung disease
- Severe hearing loss
- Scar tissue
- Loss of range of motion or problems moving your body
- Ulcers
- Cancers or other conditions caused by contact with toxic chemicals or other dangers
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mental or physical health conditions related to military sexual trauma (MST)
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
The process of filing a fully developed claim
The fully developed claims processing option allows fast claim processing. If you intend to submit a fully developed disability claim, you must submit your completed Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits (VA Form 21-526EZ). You must also provide all the evidence or supporting documents and acknowledge that there’s no more evidence needed to decide your claim. Even so, VA may schedule a medical exam necessary to process your claim. The Fully Developed Claims program does not affect the attention or the compensation amount. VA automatically removes claims that require additional non-federal records from the fully developed claims and transfers them to the standard claim processing program.
VA Claim Exam (C&P exam)
After filing your disability benefits, VA may order you to get a VA Compensation & Pension (C&P) medical exam to gather evidence for a disability claim. This examination is conducted by VA and contracted medical professionals at no cost to the claimant. It helps determine service connection and the severity of a condition for disability rating and the calculation of compensation amount. Failure to attend these medical evaluations may lead to claim denial or benefit reduction. VA bases your rating on the severity of your disability. This rating affects the amount of disability compensation you’ll receive and your enrollment in the VA health care program. VA may require you to undergo more than one C&P exam if you have multiple conditions, if you need follow-up or review, or if you request a review of the VA decision. VA may also require additional medical evidence, such as doctor and hospital reports and test results, if necessary.
Evidence required for VA disability claims
When you file a disability claim, VA reviews the available evidence to determine your eligibility. Documents and information required to process VA disability claims include:
- All non-VA hospital medical records related to the claimed condition, like doctors’ reports, X-rays, and test results, as well as medical records for treatment received for the claimed condition while serving in the military
- Any military personnel records that relate to the claimed condition
- Information about any related health records that we can request on your behalf from a federal facility, like a VA medical center or clinic
- You can also submit letters from friends, family members, law enforcement personnel, or people you served with who can give more information about your claimed condition.
- Provide your DD214 and other separation documents, or authorize VA to obtain them on your behalf.
- In some cases, VA accepts written testimony by you or anyone who knows about your condition or related events. This lay evidence is reviewed along with any other evidence you submit. It can be written on a blank piece of paper or by completing Form 21-10210 or VA Form 21-4138.
If you are a service member filing a claim through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program, you must submit copies of your service treatment records for your current period of service, and a completed Separation Health Assessment or Part A Self-Assessment Form.
The evidence you present to support your disability claim depends on the type of claim and on the issue or benefit for which you are claiming. There are different types of disability claims, including:
Original claim for disability
If you are filing a disability claim for the first time, you’ll need to submit medical or lay evidence of the claimed condition as follows:
- Evidence should show that you have a current physical or mental disability.
- You must prove that you experienced an incident, got injured, or became infected with a disease during your active-duty service.
- There must be a link between your current condition and the event, injury, or disease that happened during your service. VA requires claimants to provide medical records or medical opinions from health care providers to support this link. You can also submit lay evidence (VA Form 21-10210).
Certain conditions are presumed to occur from military service and may not require evidence. They include:
- A chronic (long-lasting) illness that appeared within a year after discharge
- An illness caused by contact with contaminants, toxic chemicals, or other hazardous materials
- An illness caused by your time spent as a Prisoner of War (POW)
If your disability claim is related to your period of inactive duty training, the medical or lay evidence must show that:
- You have a physical or mental condition.
- You got injured, or your injury worsened, or you suffered from an acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, or cerebrovascular accident during your training
- You must also provide medical records or opinions, evidence linking your current condition to the injury, disease, or health event that happened during your training. VA may also accept lay evidence through the submission of a completed VA Form 21-10210.
Increased claim for disability
If your disability claim was already determined to be service-connected and accepted, you can request more compensation if the disability worsens. In such a case, you must provide medical records or an opinion from a qualified physician showing that your disability has gotten worse. You can also submit lay evidence (VA Form 21-10210).
Secondary service-connected claim
You can also file a claim for a new disability that’s linked to a disability that VA has already determined to be service-connected. Evidence required for secondary service-connected disabilities includes:
- Proof that you have a new physical or mental condition
- Medical records or opinions from healthcare providers linking the new condition to the VA-determined service-related disability. Completed VA Form 21-10210 may also be accepted in some cases. Also, some secondary disabilities may not require evidence linking them to the originally accepted disability.
Supplemental claim
If your claim was denied in the past, you can file a supplemental claim. However, you must provide new evidence supporting the claim, which was not part of the original denied claim. The evidence you provide must be relevant in proving or disproving information in the previous decision to allow for a change in the decision.
If you had other than honorable, bad conduct, or dishonorable discharge, you can attempt to qualify by applying for a discharge upgrade and requesting a VA character of discharge review.
Summary
To file a VA injury disability claim, you must submit a completed Application for Disability Compensation (VA Form 21-526EZ) online, by mail, or with the help of a Veterans Service Officer (VSO). For quicker processing of claims, the VA provides claimants with the option to submit fully developed claims. In this case, you’ll need to provide evidence to support your claim, such as private medical records and service treatment records. You may also be requested to provide additional information or to undergo a Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam.