SERVING
Those That
SERVED
Questions & Answers
INSTRUCTIONS: Please read each question carefully. If you are able to answer question appropriately use the form below the question to respond. Your name will not appear on the public answer page. Only your initials and date of your response will be visible.
Q66: I have a lower back condition that the VA determined I was not a candidate for back surgery. I first had lower back pain after loading 3 truck loads of 100 lb. gas cylinders in a 2 1/2 ton truck at Fort Leonard, Missouri. I was assigned to the EOD squad there and we took the cylinders to the demo range and destroyed them with explosives. This occurred during the winter of 1959/60. I spent 6 years in the Army and did a tour in Germany. Do I qualify?
If you have a question about benefits, compensation, pension or VA related issues please submit here.
A1: Any veteran who served on active duty and as a Dd214 showing an honorable discharge from the military can file a claim for VA disability benefits any time he or she wants. Your eligibility is not affected by how long ago a veteran served. Just remember that the conditions you are claiming service connection for are related to an injury, event or illness you incurred while on active duty or active reserve duty. VA will go out and get all of your military records, especially your service treatment records. If they find an incident or presumed condition that happened as a result of your service, they will order exams you must show up for closest to your home to determine the extent of your medical disability for each condition you claim. Once VA has all the medical evidence on your claim, VA will do a rating decision and inform you by mail of the results. The whole process must be completed within 125 days from your date of claim. (KG) 7/3/18
A2: You need three things for a successful compensation claim.
a. a current, medically diagnosed chronic medical condition
b. evidence of this condition starting while in the service. (medical record entries, personnel file input, etc.)
c. a nexus between the two
Remember, your filing for a "service connected disability" therefore, you have to be able to tie this to your military service.
Unfortunately, just your word is not sufficient. (RJ) 7/26/18