Presumed Qualifications for
Service-Connected Disability Benefits
The Veterans Administration (VA) has streamlined the disability benefits approval process for certain groups of veterans who have been diagnosed with certain types of medical conditions.
What Groups or Medical Conditions Qualify?
U.S. military veterans with medical conditions that may be presumed to have been caused or aggravated by their service in the armed forces include:
- Veterans diagnosed with chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes or hypertension, or with tropical diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, malaria or filariasis, within one year of release from active duty
- Veterans diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at any time after discharge or release from with service of 90 days or more
- Former prisoners of war diagnosed with any of a number of specified conditions (and resulting in a minimum 10 percent disability); including, psychosis, anxiety disorders, dysthymic disorder, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, heart disease, hypertensive vascular disease, stroke, chronic dysentery or irritable bowel syndrome
- Vietnam veterans (service at any time from January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975; does not include service in offshore waters) diagnosed with Agent Orange-related medical conditions such as Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, lung cancer, tracheal cancer, cancer of the larynx, cancer of the bronchus, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, chronic lymphocyctic leukemia, soft-tissue sarcoma (not mesothelioma, osteosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma or chondrosarcoma) — and, if certain conditions are met, chloracne and porphyria cutanea tarda as well
- Veterans exposed to ionizing radiation (in various ways or at specified locations) and diagnosed with any of approximately two dozen listed forms of cancer, including nearly every type of leukemia, bronchiolo-aveolar carcinoma, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and primary liver cancer (unless cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated)
- Gulf War veterans diagnosed with medically unexplained, chronic, multisymptom illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome (clusters of signs or symptoms must be present for at least six months; conditions must be at least 10 percent disabling; diagnoses must be made by December 31, 2011)
Although it's possible for the government to rebut the presumption that an illness or medical condition is not service-connected — the odds are in your favor.
If we don't win, you don't pay.
At Shifrin Newman Smith Inc., you'll find attorneys who have been dedicated exclusively to helping Ohio residents to obtain Social Security Disability benefits and veteran's disability benefits since 1985. Simply put, we know how to prove you are disabled — and we can help you navigate the bureaucracy of the Veterans' Administration.
To schedule a free consultation with a lawyer at our Akron or Cleveland offices, call us directly at 877-230-5500 or send us a brief e-mail message.
