Filing An Alabama VA Claim For PTSD
Statistics from the U.S. Veterans’ Administration (VA) estimate that roughly 1 of every 6 male veterans (1 of 13 for female veterans) will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetimes. For as frequently as the condition occurs, too many people try to ignore it or minimize it when they simply do not have to live that way. However, filing for veterans’ benefits based on PTSD can be difficult and overwhelming.
If you have come back from a tour of duty missing your sense of safety, a knowledgeable Birmingham veterans’ benefits claims attorney from Goldasich, Vick & Fulk can help to guide you through the claims process so that you can get the help you need. Filing for benefits can be a process that is both confusing and impersonal, leaving you with the sense that no one wants to help – but you are not alone.
Disability Rating Is Everything
A veteran can claim VA benefits if they have one or more mental or physical conditions that were caused by (or made worse by) their military service. Each condition whose antecedents can be traced back to your military service may qualify for its own disability rating, and it is the disability rating that determines whether or not you are entitled to benefits (and how much those benefits are worth). As one might imagine, physical disabilities are generally easier to link to one’s military service than mental or emotional disabilities, but this does not make the latter impossible.
In general, a mental health condition like PTSD will receive either a 0, 10, 30, 50, 70, 90, or 100 percent disability rating, depending on the frequency and severity of your symptoms, with the higher the percentage yielding a greater amount of monetary benefit. A rating of 70 percent is seen as proof that someone cannot live a “normal” life, which may render someone eligible to receive what is known as special monthly compensation (SMC) to help with daily life tasks.
Filing An Appeal
If you believe that your PTSD is severe enough where you might be eligible for benefits, you have the right to seek them – but unfortunately, sometimes conditions like PTSD that can be “invisible” are not immediately accepted as sufficiently debilitating by the VA. There are three unofficial criteria that must be met in order for the VA to accept a disability claim – (1) a person’s veteran status; (2) the existence of a current disability; and (3) the link between one’s service and their disability.
If your PTSD claim is denied by the VA, you have the right to appeal, though one’s odds are generally higher with the right legal help on your side. The VA offers three possible methods of appeal for decisions received after February 2019 – a supplemental claim, a “higher-level” review, or a board appeal – which can make things easier on a disabled veteran, given that not every case is the same.
An Attorney Can Help Shoulder The Load – Call Us Today
Getting out of the military with PTSD can mean coming back to a life that feels alien and intimidating, and if your claim for benefits is denied, it can feel lonely on top of that. You are not alone – a Birmingham personal injury attorney from Goldasich, Vick & Fulk can make sure that you explore all your options, and work hard to get you the benefits you deserve. Call our office today at (205) 731-2566 to schedule a consultation.
Source:
ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_veterans.asp
