Supporting A VA Presumptive Injury Claim
Not all Veterans Affairs (VA) injury claims can be quickly proven with specific events. You may be missing some information due to the hectic environment in your military service, or your condition could be the result of military service in general. If you can't produce direct evidence for specific injuries, consider a few ways to bolster the success of your claim with a presumptive injury approach.
What Is A Presumptive Injury?
During military service, there are certain events that affect a large number of people. Because of the widespread effect or the hectic nature of the situation, it may be difficult for involved veterans to have detailed paperwork about the event. In many cases, the symptoms and side effects may not be known until years later.
The VA covers such conditions under a category called Presumptive Service Connections, also known as 'presumptives'. Presumptives cover infamous military exposures such as Agent Orange, asbestos exposure or ionizing radiation due to atomic weapon exposure. More recently, the condition has covered a lot of the hardships and long-term side effects of duty in Southwest Asia.
For many of these exposures and situations, the problem doesn't become noticeable until long after the event. Symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss or even irritable bowel symptom can be temporary side effects of military service in general, or due to the diet of foreign countries. If you've been suffering from similar issues to the conditions listed in the VA's presumptive chart (listed in this PDF file from the VA), you may have a chance at VA disability compensation.
Proving a Presumptive Condition For Compensation
A presumptive claim is a significant step up from having no evidence at all for your condition; a situation that far too many veterans suffer due to the fast-paced, tough-it-out mentality that some military commands may promote. To prove the condition, you'll need to build as much evidence as you can, even if you've made few or no medical complaints.
If you've received kind of medical care that can be documented, bring the evidence to a personal injury attorney. With the attorney's assistance, your medical record can be scoured for information that could prove your case or at least begin drawing a trail of causation for your injuries.
If you have no evidence or vague evidence, a personal injury attorney can refer you to a medical team that knows how to examine your condition in relation to your presumptive injury complaint. With new supporting evidence, your claim can become even more successful.
Contact a personal injury attorney such as Piccin Law Firm to begin building a comprehensive presumptive condition claim.
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