VA Disability Glossary – Key Terms Every Veteran Should Know

Direct Service Connection

  • Direct service connection is granted when a veteran’s current disability is clearly linked to an event, injury, or illness that occurred during military service. This is the most common way to establish eligibility for VA disability compensation.

    To establish this, a veteran needs to prove three things: a current, diagnosed disability; evidence of an in-service event, injury, or illness; and a medical nexus (link) between the two.

  • 1. Current, Diagnosed Disability:

    • The veteran must have a current medical diagnosis of a disability.

    • This disability could be physical or mental.

    2. In-Service Event, Injury, or Illness:

    • There needs to be evidence that the veteran experienced an event, injury, or illness during their military service.

    • This could be documented in service records, medical records, or through other forms of evidence like buddy statements.

    3. Medical Nexus (Link):

    • A medical nexus is a direct link between the current disability and the in-service event, injury, or illness.

    • This link is typically established through a medical opinion from a qualified healthcare professional.

    • The medical professional needs to state that it is "at least as likely as not" that the current disability is related to the in-service event.

    • A back injury from a fall during basic training

    • Hearing loss from exposure to loud weapons fire

    • PTSD after experiencing a traumatic event during combat

    Note: These are only a few examples, and there are many different ways a disability can be directly service connected.

  • If direct service connection is established, the VA assigns a disability rating based on the severity of the condition, which determines the amount of monthly compensation. The stronger the medical evidence and connection to service, the higher the chance of approval.

    Working with a VA-accredited attorney or representative can help gather the right evidence, such as medical records and nexus letters, to clearly show how your current disability began during your service.

    We have attorneys and representatives here at Greene & Marusak who can help you establish service connection.

    Give us a call at (844) 483-8737

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