Common VA Disability Claims

By Cindi Pearce

Military veterans face numerous physical and mental conditions that may prompt them to file for disability. These men and women are suffering from war-time injuries and may not be able to work as a result. Soldiers often seek disability claims from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Common VA disability claims include PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, which means that you are suffering from an anxiety disorder as a result of traumatic events experienced or witnessed while in the service. You may have flash-backs and think you are back in the situation that caused the anxiety. Sometimes this type of claim is hard to prove so you need a veterans disability lawyer to assist you.

Hyper-tension or high blood pressure is another common reason for seeking VA disability. When a person is suffering from hypertension, his blood pressure is higher than normal and can prompt a heart attack, heart failure, aneurysms and strokes. A veteran's blood pressure can become high if he has done several combat tours; endured or endures high-stress situations; if he was exposed to toxins such as Agent Orange -- a 1960s method of herbicidal warfare -- as well as other lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking and over-eating.)

Limbs lost during combat -- often from a soldier's entering the cross-fire of explosives -- require prostheses and extensive rehabilitation and may result in a disability claim if the individual is so hindered by his physical limitations that he can't work.

Eye injuries are frequently the result of combat such as flying shrapnel. If vision is impaired to the extent that the individual can't work, this is a basis for a disability claim.

Spinal-cord injuries can be devastating and are often found among veterans. There has been a rise in traumatic brain injuries and spine injuries because soldiers wear protective gear that enables them to survive wounds that would have killed them in prior conflicts. However, many of these soldiers suffer from devastating injuries to the brain and to the spine, which must be addressed.

Some soldiers are exposed to radiation while serving, which results in radiating poisoning. This is a disabling injury that can result even after one dose of exposure. Radiation exposure leads to headache, weakness in the body, vomiting, fatigue and can result in death. Grand exposure can cut one's survival chance by 50 percent and can lead to the growths of tumor, cancer, reproductive problems and development issues.

Soldiers who have served in the Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War or the Afghanistan War may have been exposed to various diseases, including salmonella, malaria, West Nile virus, tuberculosis as well as other diseases and may be eligible for disability as a result.

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