Claims

Every individual who experienced MST must prove it to the VA in order to achieve a Disability Rating. If you want just Healthcare all you have to do is say it happened and no proof is required.  LINK TO THE VA.

The PDF about Disability Compensation for Conditions Related to Military Sexual Trauma (MST) has to be read and understood.  READ THE FACT SHEET PDF BY THE VA.

In evaluating a military sexual trauma VA disability claim, the VA Examiners will be looking at three things:

  • (1)  Do you, the veteran, have a current disabling condition (often with MST claims it is PTSD);
  • (2)  Is it the result of, or aggravated by, something that happened during military service (for example, an MST); and
  • (3)  Is there a link between the two? 

Your Story is very important. The VSO will not read it unless you agree. You both will extract the markers to write the claim.

Find an accredited VSO who will file your claims free of charge. Once the VBA tells you you have a disability and gives a rating the compensation is covered to the date you filed.

Have the VSO file for these disabilities caused by MST.  Are you suffering from these conditions?

Each condition caused by Military Sexual Trauma can be rated independently as long as they are definitely separate and distinct from one another. The laws state that a single symptom can only be rated once, so if two conditions are technically diagnosed, but each cause similar symptoms, then only one can be rated. 

  • PTSD or TBI both are very similar.
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Agoraphobia
  • Panic Attacks 
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Sleeping Disorders as in APNEA 38 CFR 4.25 Beyond the PTSD criterion symptoms of insomnia and nightmares, 40% to 98% of veterans with PTSD also have a co-occurring sleep disturbance such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), periodic leg movement disorder, sleep terrors, or nocturnal anxiety attacks.
  • Eating Disorders  38 CFR § 4.130 A VA Funded Study (2017) looked at female veterans of war trauma and stated that depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can trigger disordered eating.  The onset of PTSD symptoms can induce negative thinking and cause individuals to engage in disordered eating in an effort to manage the PTSD symptoms.
  • Hearing Loss and Tinnitus and Vertigo 38 CFR 4.87 Schedule of ratings—Ear.   You can have Tinnitus without hearing loss but it must be service related.  Under 38 CFR § 4.87, recurrent tinnitus (Diagnostic code 6260) has a maximum disability rating of ten percent.  Hearing impairment with attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring more than once weekly, with or without tinnitus if 100% Disability.
  • PLUS everything else you find yourself suffering from is physically and mentally covered in VSARD.

 

 

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