VA Disability: Secondary Conditions
Veterans who are in need of VA disability benefits should be aware that the presence of secondary conditions that emerge from a primary service connected disability can lead to a higher VA disability rating. Sometimes secondary conditions can increase the chances of getting full VA disability compensation.
Medical conditions that veterans experience, due to service related injury or illness, can be treated as primary conditions. In some cases however, another medical condition, physical or psychological, can arise as a result of the primary disability. This is known as a secondary condition. A secondary condition, according to the VA, is any physical or psychological problem that is worsened by a service connected condition.
Secondary conditions can be very significant in determining your inability to work if you are considering applying for VA disability benefits or seeking an increased disability rating. Secondary conditions related to an initial service connected disability are not uncommon among veterans who have acquired a primary service connected condition.
PTSD, Depression and Anxiety As a Service Connected Disability
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are among the most common service connected conditions that result from military service. These conditions can arise from the rigors and stress that can occur in military service. These conditions can cause obvious emotional symptoms such as irritability, nervousness, persistent sadness, and withdrawal from family and friends. But these conditions can also result in a sedentary lifestyle and a reduction in physical activity which can lead to asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension (high blood pressure), as secondary conditions to service connected PTSD.
Service Connected Primary and Secondary Conditions
Not only is post traumatic stress disorder a common primary service connected disability, it is also a common secondary condition to many service connected disabilities. Some service connected conditions that can be rated by the VA as a primary condition can also be secondary to another condition. In fact, many secondary conditions of the below service connected disabilities are also common secondary conditions:
Diabetes
Service connected diabetes can be a primary condition that could lead to blindness or kidney failure. But diabetes can also emerge as a result of depression, heart disease, or a stroke. In some cases a treatment or medication for a primary condition like cancer or heart disease can lead to diabetes. It is not uncommon that medications can aggravate secondary conditions.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops during sleep, can arise from asthma, PTSD, diabetes, or weight gain as a result of medications that treat a service connected disability.
Asthma
Asthma is also a condition that can be service connected or develop as a result of a service connected condition. Sleep apnea is a condition that can arise from asthma, but asthma could also be a secondary condition resulting from diabetes, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or depression.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
A common condition in which stomach acid irritates, and can eventually damage, the esophagus and ins some cases, leading to secondary conditions. In turn, GERD can arise as a secondary condition from asthma, PTSD, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Migraines
Migraines are a type of headache that can be chronic and debilitating. They can be secondary conditions to PTSD, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, or traumatic brain injury, as a few examples.
Hypertension
High blood pressure, or hypertension, can exist as primary service related disability but can also have a secondary service connection to a primary service related disability such as PTSD and tinnitus.
Heart Disease and Stroke
Heart attacks and strokes can be secondary conditions that are caused by PTSD, hypertension, diabetes, or sleep apnea.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain can have a debilitating effect on a veteran's ability to work. This can stem from spinal cord injuries that result in nerve damage, loss of mobility, or can emerge from service connected arthritis.
These are just some of the service related conditions that can lead to secondary conditions or be secondary to another condition. As you can see, many of these service connected disabilities can be either primary or secondary service related conditions.
Establishing a secondary service connection
To have the VA recognize your condition you must establish a nexus, meaning proving the connection, between the service related disability and the secondary condition. This requires medical evidence and opinions, test results, and establishing exactly how the secondary condition arises out of the primary disability.
VA medical examiner's evaluation
A VA medical examiner will evaluate the medical evidence provided. The examiner's evaluation will consider the following:
the current level of severity of the non-service connected disease or injury
an opinion as to whether an service-connected condition was the proximate cause of the non-service connected disability to increase in severity, and
an adequate analysis with medical considerations supporting the opinion.
The examiner will then make a determination on whether an non-service connected disability has been aggravated by the non-service connected disability and to what extent. The determination will also consider any increase of the service connected disability that may be due to age or natural progression, which will be left out of any finding of a secondary service connection .
A secondary service connected condition can increase your VA rating
The VA system for rating disabilities is complicated and doesn't add up like conventional math. When a service connected disability leads to a secondary condition it can still boost your VA rating. A high enough rating can allow full benefits for veterans who are unable to work due to a service connected disability and a secondary service condition.
If you feel that you have developed a secondary condition in addition to your existing service connected disability, you may want to be reevaluated for a higher VA disability rating. You will need to establish the connection between your primary service connected disability to the secondary condition.
Friedman Law Firm
The attorneys of the Friedman Firm know that a veteran’s condition can worsen over time and that a secondary conditions can emerge or be worsened due to a service-connected medical condition. We have experience in getting our clients an increase in their VA ratings, and attaining increased benefits. We also have a track record of attaining individual unemployability, for our clients, which offers the benefits of a 100% VA rating without reaching that actual percentage. Secondary conditions can often play a big part in helping to gain individual unemployability.
We are dedicated VA disability lawyers
As VA disability attorneys, we do not charge a consultation or retainer fee. We only get paid if we are successful with your case. We are committed to winning veterans disability benefits for our clients.
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