Service-Connected Disabilities

If you sustained any injuries while in the service or any injury that may be caused by your service, you may qualify for service-connected compensation.  A service connection can be caused by direct correlation, presumption, secondary to another service-connected condition or aggravation. To qualify you may need the following:

• A clinically diagnosed condition (a diagnosis as per the DSM-V for mental disabilities)
• Documentation of your injury/illness from your Service Treatment Records (STR)
• Documentation of current treatment for the condition(s)
• “Buddy Statements” from fellow service members or family members
• A *Nexus statement from a physician

*A Nexus statement is a doctor’s opinion on your medical condition(s) being attributed to service time.  It can be in your doctor’s notes or they can even write one on a separate statement. 

**We strongly advise you to contact our office so we may assist you in the claims process**

 If you choose to pursue a claim on your own, you can accomplish this by:

• Applying online at VA.gov or eBenefits
• Printing off the 21-526ez Form along with any other required documents and sending it to the Claims Intake Center

**EXPAND THE SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY BENEFITS TAB (+) IN ORDER TO SHOW PRESUMPTIVE CONDITIONS**