You may qualify for VA Disability Compensation benefits if:

• You served in the active military, naval, or air service and were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable
  • Exceptions: If you have a dishonorable discharge, check with the VA to see if there is an exception in your situation so that you can get benefits.
• You have a current disability; and
• There is a link between your military service and your current disability.

Ways Your Disability can be Service-Connected

To get VA Disability Compensation, first you must show that you have a disability that is service-connected or related to your military service. This means your disability started during your active military service, or that a disability that you had before your service was made worse because of your military service, beyond how the condition would have naturally progressed on its own.

There are five ways you can show that your condition is related to your military service:

• Direct Service Connection: You can show that your current disability was directly due to, or caused during, active military service.
  • Examples: Your disability was caused by an injury from an explosive device while deployed, or while playing softball after normal working hours. Either way, the injuries are related to active military service or happened during active military service, so they are directly service-connected.
• Aggravation: You can show that your injury or disease was made worse by your active military, naval, or air service. Your disability is related to your military service, unless it got worse as part of the normal progression of the disease.
  • Example: Before entering service, you injure your back. After your back heals, your doctor says you are healthy and you pass the physical exam to join the military (while telling them about your prior back injury). If you injure your back again while carrying a pack in the service, your pre-existing condition has been aggravated by your military service and so your back injury is service-connected.
• Statutory Presumptions: You can show that you have a condition or are in a situation that is automatically considered service-connected.
  • Examples: Having some chronic diseases or tropical diseases; having been a prisoner of war, exposed to herbicide agents, or exposed to radiation; or being a Persian Gulf veteran.
• Secondary Service Connection: You can show that you have a service-connected disability that directly or indirectly causes another disability. The new disability can also be considered service-connected and treated as if it were a result of your military service. The VA gives it a separate Disability Compensation rating.
  • Example: You injure your back while on active duty and that injury makes you walk with a limp. This can affect other body parts, such as your knees, legs, and ankles. These additional conditions may be service-connected.
• Disability Caused by VA Medical Treatment or Vocational Rehabilitation: You can show your disability was caused by VA medical care or while participating in a VA-approved Vocational Rehabilitation program. This is also called an “1151 Claim.” Such an injury is treated as if it were service-connected. An 1151 claim is similar to a claim for medical malpractice.
  • Example: You go to a VA hospital to have surgery on your right knee and the VA accidently operates on your left knee instead, causing permanent damage.

Note: If you think your disability was caused by the VA, think about talking to an attorney about the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). It might let you sue the federal government for their wrongdoing, but it could affect your VA benefits, which is why you should speak with an attorney first. Look for an attorney who knows about both the FTCA and veterans benefits. You can search the VA website for accredited attorneys.

What do I get?

If you get VA Disability Compensation benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) gives you a specific disability rating for each disability you have. These ratings use percentages to show how much your service-connected disability limits your ability to work. Ratings are given in amounts of 10%, starting at 0%, then 10%, 20%, and so on, up to 100%. The amount of your benefits is based on these percentages.

The VA lists the current service-connected Disability Compensation rates. To understand these charts, read the VA’s article on How to Read Benefits Rate Tables.

Individual Unemployability (IU)

If you get VA Disability Compensation and can’t get or keep a job at all because of your disability, you might get extra payments due to Individual Unemployability (IU).

To get these extra IU payments, you must:

• Get VA Disability Compensation
• Have one service-connected disability rated at 60% or higher, or two or more service-connected conditions with at least one rated at 40% or higher, and
• Be unable to get or keep a job that pays as much as the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). The VA calls this “substantial gainful employment.”

Even if you have a job, you might qualify for IU. For example, you can get IU if you make less than the poverty level (called “marginal employment”) or if you have a job where, because of your disability, you don’t have to do exactly the same work or meet the same standards as someone else doing that job (called “sheltered employment”). For example, if you work for a friend or a relative who knows about your disability and makes special work rules just for you, the VA may decide that you can get IU.

Be careful if you are working as a volunteer. You could lose your IU benefits if the VA decides that the unpaid work you do shows that you are employable.

Learn more about Individual Unemployability.

How Other Benefits Affect VA Disability Compensation

Your VA compensation benefit may be lower if you’ve gotten military retirement pay, disability severance pay, or separation incentive payments, known as Special Separation Benefits (SSB) and Voluntary Separation Incentives (VSI).

However, in some cases you can get both full military retirement pay and VA Disability Compensation. When you apply for Disability Compensation, let the VA know if you’ve gotten any of these types of payments, and they decide if you can get full Disability Compensation benefits. If you don’t tell the VA about these payments and they overpay you, you could end up owing them money. (If you disagree with their decision, you can appeal.)

How do I get the money?

The U.S. Treasury pays all federal benefits electronically. This means you can get your payments by direct deposit (your payments go straight into your bank account each month automatically) or through a Direct Express debit card.

For direct deposit, the U.S. Treasury Department:

• Answers common questions
• Explains what you need to sign up, and
• Has an online application.

If you want to have your benefits payments added to a Direct Express debit card each month:

1. You can get your payments electronically even if you do not have a bank account.
2. You have access to your money any time at automated teller machines (ATMs) and you can buy things anywhere that accepts MasterCard.
3. You can access your account information by telephone and Internet, make purchases over the Internet, and get cash back at stores without paying a fee.

For more details or to sign up for a Direct Express debit card, visit the U.S. Treasury Department’s GoDirect page.

There are different ways to apply for benefits and services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including VA Disability Compensation. The ways you can apply depend on if you are currently on active duty or if you are already discharged.

Note: Claims filed before discharge are usually handled faster than those filed than after discharge.

Applying for VA Disability Compensation Before Military Discharge

If you are a member of the armed forces serving on active duty or fulltime National Guard duty, you can apply for benefits through the VA’s Pre-Discharge Program. As part of the Pre-Discharge Program, the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) rates your fitness for duty. If you are rated medically unfit for duty, the IDES gives you a proposed VA disability rating before you leave the service.

You can start the Pre-Discharge Program by filing for Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD):

• Online at VA.gov
• By mail using VA Form 21-526EZ, or
• In person.

The VA offers complete application information for BDD.

All service members on full-time, active duty, including members of the Coast Guard and the National Guard and Reserves, can start the BDD program at military installations nationwide or at the VA's Detroit Regional Benefit Office. If you are on a military installation, contact your local Transition Assistance Office or ACAP Center (Army only) to attend VA benefits briefings and learn how to file your claim.

Two overseas military installations also accept BDD claims: Germany and South Korea. Learn more about the BDD Overseas Intake Sites.

The Pre-Discharge Program lets you apply for VA Disability Compensation and other VA benefits, such as Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E), education, and home loans. Summary of VA Benefits flyer has short descriptions of VA benefits, contact phone numbers, and locations.

Learn more about the Pre-Discharge Program.

Visit the VA Returning Service Members (OEF/OIF website for more information, like resources for family members and outreach activities for veterans.

Applying for VA Disability Compensation After Military Discharge

If you have already left military service, there are several ways to apply for VA disability benefits. You can:

• Submit your application online: answer a few questions at VA.gov and then follow the instructions.
• Complete VA Form 21-526EZ, the Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. Send it in with copies of your service treatment records to the VA's Detroit Regional Benefit Office.
• Go to the VA's Detroit Regional Benefit Office and have a VA employee assist you. Bring copies of any records needed to support your claim.
• Work with an accredited representative.

Learn about evidence requirements so you know exactly what you need. Turn in copies, not your original documents, evidence, or records, and make sure to keep your own copy of everything you submit. If you mail anything to the VA, pay extra to get a tracking number and a record of when it was delivered.

If you have the following documents, attach copies of them to your application:

• Discharge or separation papers (DD-214 or equivalent)
• Dependency records (marriage/divorce and children's birth certificates)
• Military and civilian medical evidence (doctor and hospital reports)

Getting Help with Your Application and Claim

Applying for VA benefits can be hard: You need to know about the benefits the VA offers; understand the laws, regulations, and policies that govern them; and know what evidence you need to send in with your application. Even if the VA approves your application, you still need to figure out if the VA has granted you everything you should be getting. This article is not a substitute for getting qualified and trained help.

Many veterans have successfully applied for and gotten the benefits they claimed on their own. To do this, they spent time learning everything about how the VA works. If you have the time and education needed to understand the VA, this is an option.

However, if you find the VA’s rules and programs confusing, you can get help from:

• Accredited Service Officers, employees of a recognized veterans service organization or a state or county department of veterans affairs who have been trained and are accredited and authorized by the VA to represent claimants (people applying for veterans benefits). Service officers do not charge for their services.
• Accredited Claims Agents, non-attorneys who have been authorized by the VA to represent claimants. Claims agents may charge you a fee for some services.
• Accredited Attorneys, attorneys authorized by the VA to represent you. They typically charge fees.

You can search the VA website for accredited representatives, claims agents, and attorneys.

No matter who helps you or represents you, make sure it’s a person you trust who knows what they’re doing. Ask other veterans in your area if they know good accredited service officers, claims agents, or attorneys. Do not settle for a substandard representative. If you get a representative you are not happy with, you can change your representative at any time.

What the VA Does After It Gets Your Claim

There are eight steps for most claims for benefits from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The time each step takes depends on how complex your claim is, how much evidence is needed, and the type of evidence. Providing as much evidence as possible with your claim can affect how long it takes.

The eight steps are:

1. Claim Received: If you apply online, you get an online receipt within an hour; if you apply by U.S. mail, it takes standard mailing time plus one week for the VA to process and record your claim.
2. Under Review: Your claim is assigned to a VA representative who looks at it and decides if more evidence is needed. (If no more evidence is needed, your claim moves to Step 5, Preparation for Decision.)
3. Gathering Evidence: For a standard claim, the VA representative asks for evidence — from you, a medical professional, a government agency, or another source. For the Fully Developed Claims (FDC) process, you give the VA all the relevant records that you have when you file your claim, and then certify that you have no more evidence to give them. Learn more about VA evidence requirements.
4. Review of Evidence: The VA representative looks at all the evidence; if more evidence is needed, your claim goes back to Step 3, and if no more evidence is needed, your claim moves to Step 5.
5. Preparation for Decision: The VA representative makes a decision on your claim, and creates documents explaining that decision. (While creating the documents, the representative may decide even more evidence is needed, and your claim moves back to Step 3.)
6. Pending Decision Approval: The VA representative’s decision is reviewed, and a final award approval is made. (During the approval process, it might be decided that more evidence is needed, and your claim moves back to Step 3.)
7. Preparation for Notification: You entire claim decision packet is prepared for mailing.
8. Complete: The VA sends you a decision packet by U.S. Mail (allow for standard delivery times). The packet includes all the details of the decision or award.

You can track the status of your claim online.

VA Medical Exams During the Claims Process

As part of the evidence gathering process, the VA representative may order a medical exam, which is done at no cost to you. This exam is called a VA claim exam or a Compensation & Pension (C&P) exam.

Not everyone who files a claim goes to a VA claim exam. Or, if you are asking for benefits based on more than one disability, you might go to more than one claim exam.

The VA claim exam is different from a regular medical appointment because the person doing the exam won’t prescribe any medicine or treat you for your disability. The goal of this exam is to help the VA decide if your disability is service connected, the level of your disability, or if your disability rating should go up because your condition is getting worse.

Each exam is different. The person doing the exam may ask you questions, observe your behavior, do a limited physical exam, or simply review your file with you. The exam could be short or last an hour or more; a mental-health evaluation typically lasts two to four hours.

The VA has a Compensation & Pension exam overview, including:

• VA Claim Exam Factsheet
• Mental Health Exam Factsheet
• VA Claim Exam Tips
• VA claim exam frequently asked questions

Appealing a Denied Claim

If the VA denies your claim, you don’t agree with them, and you think they made a mistake, you can appeal their decision. An appeal can have many levels, up to and including the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and even the U.S. Supreme Court.

There are different types and levels of appeals, with different deadlines. The rules are complicated and if you appeal, you must get help right away from an accredited service officer, accredited claims agent, or an accredited attorney to make sure you do your appeal right. If you don’t, you might not be able to appeal and you may lose out on benefits that should be yours.

During the appeal process, your representative plays a key role. You can search for accredited veterans service organization representatives, agents, or attorneys on the VA website.

And you might be able to get a free attorney through the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, a nonprofit veterans organization.

Learn more about the appeals process.

Getting VA Disability Compensation means you can also get help from many other benefits, programs, and services.

The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) helps Michigan veterans and their families connect to services and benefits statewide. MVAA offers:

• The Michigan Veteran Resource Service Center at 1-800-MICH-VET (1-800-642-4838) and the Michigan Veterans website: Information, resources, and support for veterans and their families.
• The Michigan Veterans Trust Fund: Help for combat-era veterans and their families with unforeseen, temporary financial emergencies.
• Copies of DD-214 discharge documents for veterans.
• Three Michigan Veterans Homes with skilled nursing, dementia, special needs, or home-like care in safe, caring environments for certain veterans and their spouses.

Depending on your level of disability and other factors, once you get VA Disability Compensation, you may qualify for other state and federal benefits.

Benefit Payments:

• Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CDRP)
• Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
• VA dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for survivors (in some cases) for a non-service-connected death
• Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) for the loss (or loss of use of) specific organs or body parts as a result of military service; you can only get this extra payment if you also get VA Disability Compensation benefits

Services:

• Priority VA health care
• Dental services
• VA independent living services
• VA Aid and Attendance (A&A) for housebound veterans
• Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS)
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)

Employment / Business:

• Priority hiring for government jobs
• Employment help for veterans and their spouses through the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity's Veterans Employment Services
• Referrals to veteran-friendly employers
• Federal contracting jobs for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses

General:

• Waiver of VA home loan funding fee
• Option to buy up to $10,000 of low-cost VA service-disabled veterans insurance (S-DVI) life insurance; these policies have the letters “RH” in front of the policy number, so are sometimes called RH insurance
• VA automobile allowance for disability modification
• VA burial benefits, including burial expenses for service-connected death, burial and funeral expenses for non-service-connected death, and a burial plot allowance
• VA clothing allowance, if needed because of prosthetic use or certain skin disabilities
• Disabled parking privileges

If the VA rates your disability or disabilities as “total and permanent,” you may qualify for some other programs, including:

• A waiver of premiums on Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI) life insurance (also called RH insurance)
• Eligibility for up to $20,000 more of VA Life Insurance, called Supplemental Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI) or Supplemental RH
• Health insurance, called CHAMPVA, for certain dependents
• Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance (DEA) for a spouse or dependent children
• Eligibility for a Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card
• Commissary and exchange privileges
• Forgiveness of federal student loans
• Specially Adapted Housing Grants, and
• Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance.

If you have a disability, you may also qualify for federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, no matter what your VA service-connected disability is. Learn more about it in DB101’s SSDI article.

For more information, the Michigan Legislature has a brochure on veterans benefits and services, and the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency lists benefits and resources.