You can’t win a VA disability Claim without submitting your important medical records. And this is a fact of life. If some medical records are unavailable or missing, you may use lay evidence as a substitute for your missing medical information.
However, we haven’t seen any VA disability claim granted without at least a few medical records and evidence.
KD Veterans Medical Assessment has explained below the most important evidence and documentation you must provide to get the desired rating and VA disability help!
Documents You Require to Back Your VA Disability Claim
When you file your claim before the VA to get VA disability help, you must submit certain evidence to support the claim.
The type of evidence needed will differ based on the nature of your disability claim. Still, some common categories of evidence often required to build a VA service connection include:
Prove Service Connection Without Treatment Records
Your service treatment record is an ideal way to create a link between your time in service and your current disability. However, there are other ways to obtain VA disability help, even if you don’t provide these records.
You can use lay evidence or testimony from people you know to prove an association between your current VA disability and an event that occurred during your military service.
For instance, suppose you’re diagnosed with PTSD but can’t find the service treatment records. In such cases, you might benefit by testifying about the traumatic event resulting in your PTSD.
Also, you can provide testimony from an individual who witnessed that incident or who knows about your diagnosis.
Use Inactive Duty Training As Evidence of Your Disability
Veterans with service-connected medical conditions often face different obstacles when proving their VA disability.
In most cases, such conditions might be hard to document and not clearly present on your medical records. As a result, veterans need to submit additional evidence to prove their service-connected condition. IDT (inactive duty training) is the best way to do that.
IDT is a form of military service training for national and reserve guard soldiers. However, you can also use it to offer important documentation for your service-connected condition.
For instance, suppose your service-connected condition makes it challenging for you to participate in daily military training. IDT will provide an alternative process to manage proficiency and gain promotion points in such a case.
IDT will also help all veterans keep up with their necessary annual physical fitness tests. That's why IDT is a key tool for veterans attempting to prove their service-connected VA disability.
Most veterans are still underrated for their VA disabilities and, therefore, not receiving the benefits they deserve. At KD Veterans Medical Assessment, we help veterans understand and control their claims process so they get the rating and benefits they’re owned by law.
Our team will inform you about the medical records, evidence, and other documentation you need to back your VA disability claim. We provide you with a platform to create a fully-developed VA disability claim according to your service-connected condition.
Learn what’s missing, so you can finally earn your desired VA disability compensation!