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VA Disability Qualifications

Veterans are an integral part of the United States and its history. Veterans who have served their country sometimes find themselves with a disability that was a direct result of serving in the military.

The U.S. government, through the Veterans Administration (VA), has programs for financial, medical and emotional support available for qualified disabled veterans.

  1. Who Qualifies For Desability Benefits

    • If a veteran became disabled as a resulting of serving in the military, she will be considered qualified for disability. In addition, service members who become disabled even after retired or leaving the military are qualified as well as long as they were not dishonorably discharged.

      The government, through the VA, offers various disability programs and benefits with compensation and medical care being the two most common.

      Disability compensation is the payment assistance the VA provides to veterans who became disabled during active duty or who had a prior condition made worse by serving active duty.

      Veterans medical benefits are also available to veterans who have served and been either honorably discharged or released from the military. The medical benefits portion of VA benefits are especially important to disabled veterans who have medical bills associated with their disability.

    What Qualifies As A Disability

    • The VA has a wide range of illnesses and conditions that qualify as a disability. Some of the more common disabilities for disabled veterans include: limb loss, organ loss, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other physical and mental ailments either received or worsened by active duty service.

      A veteran must undergo a process to declared disabled. For the filing process, the VA uses the veteran's medical records from his service period. The patient then sees a VA doctor who determines the extent of the veteran's disability.

      Disabilities receive a rating based on the percentage of ability lost because of the injury or illness. The VA bases compensation on the percentage of ability lost.

      The VA has a standard disability payment schedule for veterans but there are additional amounts of support for veterans with dependents, survivors (should the disability result in death) and even an additional income source called SMC (Special Monthly Compensation).

      SMC is an additional monthly income source provided by the VA for the most disabled and seriously injured service members.

    Disability Benefits for Survivors

    • Survivors, according to the VA, are spouses and dependents of the veteran who served. The survivor benefits help pay funeral expenses and provides the disability income the veteran was receiving to the remaining spouse and dependents under the age of 18.

    Veterans' Dependents

    • VA disability also helps veterans take care of their dependents through programs and benefits allocated by the VA. Education assistance is a common program through the VA for dependents of disabled veterans, which is provided through what is commonly known as the GI Bill.

    Education Benefits for Disabled Veterans

    • Veterans can also receive help to pay education and college costs for those disabled during or as a result of service in the military. The education portion, again commonly known as the GI Bill, helps veterans cover education costs.

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