Service Connection | Berry Law Firm

"Service connection" is a legal term of art. It is one of the principle hurdles to be cleared in a veteran's receipt of an award of disability compensation. In theory it is straight-forward and simple. In practice it is extremely hypertechnical and complicated. The problem in making the theoretical practical is each and every claim, as well as the underlying military service by the veteran, is uniquely different. No two veterans experienced the same events while in service. No two veterans have the same physical, mental or emotional make-up at the time of their military service. One veteran's experiences of an event may mean little to his present-day health, while to another veteran, the experiences could be the cause of significant medical problems.

Accordingly, it is impossible to employ a "one size fits all" mentality to this threshold issue in a claim for disability benefits. A "cookie cutter mentality" will almost always fail. It is a significant focal point of our representation. In fact, it may be what we do best.

To simply understand it, "service connection" is a finding made by the VA the veteran suffered some event while in the military which is the cause of or the aggravation of a medical condition - whether physical, mental or emotional - which is now suffered by the veteran. That is, the veteran's present-day medical condition is "service connected". It, therefore, is subject to a disability rating. The formulas by which money benefits are paid. Whether the claim be for a hearing loss, PTSD, exposure to Agent Orange, back injuries, or even the loss of use of a sexual / creative organ, every claim must be determined to be "service connected" in order for the veteran to receive any disability compensation.

An hypothetical example might best explain this topic. Suppose a veteran suffers from a current-day disabling back injury. For instance a herniated disc process. In order to establish the veteran's right to receive disability compensation benefits, the veteran must prove his present-day back condition was caused by or aggravated by an event while the veteran was in the military service of the United States.

1. Obviously, the first step is proving veteran suffers from a current-day medically diagnosed medical condition. This medical condition must be supported by a diagnosis by a physician, or someone with the credentials to make a valid opinion. While the veteran may explain his symptoms, his pain, his limited range of motion, and the symptoms impact on his life, such is not sufficient to prove an existing current-day medical condition. A medical diagnosis is a prerequisite.

The medical diagnosis can be supplied by a VA examination, or veteran's own private health care providers. Often both are used.

2. The second step is to establish an event happened in the military which might have caused the present-day, diagnosed medical condition. This is an enormous task for the veteran's advocate. Simply obtaining the records is hard enough, but then deciphering the sometimes thousand plus pages of records, in different hand writings, recorded on different sometimes conflicting forms is a task not for the faint of heart.

A common source of information for the veteran's advocate are the veteran's military service medical records, as well as the veteran's non-medical service records. For instance, in our hypothetical back injury case, if the military service records show veteran was involved in an automobile accident while in-service for which he sought treatment for a back injury, such proof may establish the event while in service to help establish a service connection finding.

The veteran's induction and discharge medical examinations may also shed light on his back injuries. If his induction examination specifically reflects an existing back problem, the advocate may well have to argue the automobile accident "aggravated" the prior condition. Additionally, the discharge examination may supply proof of the initial injury or its aggravation. The technical aspects of these examinations is beyond the introductory scope of this brief article.

The veteran's military service [non-medical] records may also supply some proof. For instance if the veteran's DD-214 shows the veteran was a combat veteran, various presumptions may come into play. These include the accepted fact record keeping is seldom organized in a combat zone. As such, contemporaneous medical records are sometimes not necessary in and of themselves to corroborate the veteran's lay statements of the event. Additionally, the veteran may have been injured while in combat service, but yet lack any service medical record proof of treatment for the injury. The award of the Purple Heart or other ribbons, decorations or certificates may be enough to establish the event which caused or aggravated the back condition.

Private health care providers' medical records of treatment of the veteran are normally helpful as well. They establish amongst other things the ongoing chronic nature of the medical condition. This evidence is important to establish any and sometimes all three of the steps. For instance the private medical records might show a diagnosis of the present-day condition, as well as reflect veteran has chronically complained about or linked the event in-service to his injuries. This linkage is discussed in greater detail below.

3. The third step is the "nexus" or linkage between the present-day, diagnosed medical condition [Step 1] and the in-service event which caused or aggravated the present-day medical condition [Step 2]. Like the present-day medical condition, a medical opinion is almost always necessary to link the in-service event as the cause or aggravation of the present-day, diagnosed medical condition. This "nexus opinion" is most often supplied by a veteran's private health care provider, or by a VA examination. A veteran's statements alone can never meet this requirement.

The establishment of the "nexus" is a point more of art than science. Although it is based in science - that is in a medical opinion - the actual proving of the nexus opinion's validity is one of persuasion by the advocate. For the VA often will pick and choose what evidence it believes is most accurate. This may include its rejecting evidence favorable to the veteran. The art is in making the argument the favorable proof is the most legally competent and probative [truthful / accurate].

Once a veteran is "service connected" for any medical condition, the VA will evaluate the veteran's degree of disability. Based upon its determination as to the correct percentage of disability, a rating is awarded based in a % amount of 100. A veteran may be found to be 0% disabled, yet service connected for the medical condition. This may happen when veteran suffers from a service-connected medical condition, but yet it has not manifested itself to such an extent as to be compensable. The claim then is subject to a further award if, as and more often when the medical condition worsens to a compensable amount.

"Service connection" is the hypertechnical threshold to recovering disability compensation benefits. It is a critical initial step in the process.