PTSD Veterans Disability Lawyer in South Portland, ME
Maine is home to many veterans who have bravely served our country. To support these veterans, there are various benefits available in the state. One of the most important benefits veterans can receive is help with disability claims, especially for conditions like PTSD. If you’re a veteran with PTSD, you may be eligible for disability benefits to help with your care and daily expenses. Our disability benefits lawyer in South Portland can guide you through the process of applying for these benefits, making sure you get the support you need.
In this article, we will explore what PTSD veterans’ disability benefits are and how they can help those who have been affected by this condition.
Quick Summary:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after experiencing a traumatic event. PTSD can result from various causes, including military combat, sexual assault, serious accidents, and natural disasters. Women in the military have seen increased PTSD diagnoses in recent years due to their roles in combat and exposure to Military Sexual Trauma (MST). The disorder affects a wide range of service members, including those not directly engaged in combat.
- If you’ve experienced a traumatic event during military service, symptoms like vivid flashbacks, avoiding reminders of the trauma, constant anxiety, and feeling numb may indicate PTSD. Some veterans experience these symptoms immediately, while others may not show signs until months or years later.
- To qualify for VA disability benefits for PTSD, veterans must show that their PTSD is service-related, with evidence including a clinical diagnosis, proof of a service-related stressor, and a link between the stressor and the PTSD diagnosis. Additional evidence, like service records or witness statements, is often needed to support the claim, though some exceptions apply, such as PTSD diagnosed during combat.
- The amount of money you can receive for PTSD through VA disability benefits depends on the severity of your symptoms, which is determined by a VA disability rating ranging from 0% to 100%. Higher ratings reflect more severe symptoms and result in higher monthly payments. Even if your symptoms are not severe enough for a 100% rating, you may still receive benefits if your PTSD significantly impacts your ability to work.
What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a shocking or frightening event. This includes military combat, sexual assault, childhood abuse, a serious accident, or a natural disaster. It is not a weakness to suffer from PTSD. Combat veterans and other veterans who have undergone exceptionally traumatic incidents in service are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the National Center for PTSD, veterans who served in battle for lengthy periods are more vulnerable to getting PTSD. Soldiers have undoubtedly been dealing with this condition for as long as they’ve been fighting in the war. PTSD was formerly referred to as “shell shock” or “war weariness”. After the Vietnam War, however, PTSD started to earn its due recognition.
PTSD may be caused by a variety of different things outside combat:
- Assaults, whether sexual or otherwise,
- An act of terrorism
- Traffic accidents, and other types of tragedies
- Fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes are examples of natural catastrophes.
- Victimization as a result of early childhood sexual or physical abuse.
PTSD diagnoses among women in the military have increased in recent years. OIF/OEF saw a large number of female combatants. On convoys involved in firefights, it was not uncommon to encounter female gunners. Another issue was the high number of assaults and IEDs that struck women serving in combat support and combat service support units (CSSU). Over the last two decades, there has been a significant rise in Military Sexual Trauma (MST).
PTSD isn’t only a diagnosis for individuals who stray beyond the boundaries of the norm. A wide range of service members, including non-deployees, have been shown to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Even though drone operators are physically isolated from the conflict, the military has now acknowledged that they may also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
How Can I Tell If I Have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Most individuals can recover from a stressful event with time. Some folks, though, still feel the effects of the tragedy. The tension may potentially become worse with time.
If you were in the military and were exposed to a traumatic incident, be on the lookout for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Here are some common signs that might suggest you have PTSD:
- Reliving: If you keep having vivid flashbacks, nightmares, or insomnia about a traumatic event, it might be a sign of PTSD. These are intense experiences where you feel like you are reliving the event over and over.
- Avoiding things that remind you of the event: You may attempt to avoid persons or circumstances that bring up memories of the trauma. In circumstances that bring up memories, you may feel on edge, “on guard,” or twitchy. You might also attempt to avoid thinking about the incident by being too busy.
- Constant worry or fear: Feeling anxious or scared all the time, even when there is no immediate danger, can be a symptom of PTSD. This includes feeling on edge or easily startled.
- Feel numb or detached: Sentiments of numbness, helplessness, reluctance, or detachment from loved ones are all signs of negative thoughts and feelings. Guilt or humiliation are other possibilities.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may set in right away for certain military personnel who have been exposed to a terrible incident. Some veterans don’t display symptoms for months or even years after their service has ended, according to research. After a veteran is released from military service, he or she may begin experiencing symptoms.
It is recommended to seek medical attention if symptoms continue for more than a month or interfere with your relationships or capacity to earn a livelihood, according to the National Center for PTSD. Untreated PTSD raises your risk of engaging in risky behavior like binge drinking, substance abuse, or aggressive driving, all of which may be harmful to your health.
Can PTSD be Considered a Qualifying Disability for VA Disability Benefits?
When it comes to PTSD, the VA has its own set of guidelines for determining eligibility for disability compensation. Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) must have the disorder as a result of their service to be eligible for VA disability compensation.
It is necessary to show:
- clinically diagnosed PTSD under DSM-5 criteria;
- proof of an on-the-job stressor; and
- medical evidence of a relationship between the on-the-job stressor and the present PTSD diagnosis.
Most of the time, a veteran will require more evidence to support a claim regarding a distressing or traumatizing incident during military service. Documentation such as service personnel or treatment files, press stories, and witness accounts are examples of evidence that might support a claim. This additional evidence may not be necessary in other cases.
Veterans may rely on their own statements instead of supporting evidence if they were diagnosed with PTSD during service, the stressor event occurred while they were engaged in combat with hostile forces, the stressor event was connected to the veteran’s fear of actual hostile military or terrorist act, or the stressor event was connected to their time as a prisoner of war.
It is more difficult to be service-connected for PTSD than for other mental-health illnesses because of the particular standards for receiving VA compensation for PTSD. A veteran’s medical records may reveal mental health issues outside post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and these may make him or her more readily eligible for VA disability compensation.
How Much Money Can I Get for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
If you have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and are applying for disability benefits, you might wonder how much money you could receive. The amount of compensation you can get depends on several factors.
VA Disability Ratings
For veterans, the amount of disability benefits you receive for PTSD is based on a rating system used by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This rating is a percentage that shows how severe your PTSD is. The rating can range from 0% to 100%, with higher percentages meaning more severe symptoms and higher benefits.
The VA will award a disability rating to PTSD after it has established a service connection. The VA will award you disability benefits if you have a rating of 10% or more.
Monthly Compensation
The VA provides monthly payments based on your disability rating. These payments help cover your living expenses and any medical costs related to your PTSD.
Disability payments may be available to you even if your symptoms are not severe enough to earn a 100 percent disability rating if you are unable to sustain a considerable amount of productive work. As a result of their service-connected impairments, these individuals are unable to work and are given a total disability rating of zero (TDIU).
There is no difference in the way the VA assigns PTSD impairment scores to other mental health conditions. The severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a veteran may range from mild to severe, ranging from zero to one hundred percent incapacitating. An individual’s capacity to function regularly in work and social environments, as well as the intensity, frequency, and duration of their PTSD symptoms, determines their grade.
Is My PTSD Enough to Qualify for Disability Benefits from Veterans Affairs?
Veterans with service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are eligible for VA benefits. These tax-free monthly payments are only available to those who satisfy three criteria:
- You have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- You were subjected to a stressful occurrence or “stressor” while serving in the military.
- Your PTSD diagnosis and the in-service stressor are connected by a “nexus,” or connection.
This condition cannot be met only by a veteran’s own assertions concerning a service-related stressor unless the veteran was imprisoned or otherwise subjected to a hostile environment. In most circumstances, more proof is required.
The VA will issue a disability rating depending on the extent to which your PTSD impacts your employment and social life after it has been proven to be service-connected. For example, if you are unable to work because of flashbacks or nightmares that impair your ability to communicate with others, you may be eligible for financial assistance. However, you may not be eligible for compensation if you just have unsettling memories and they do not influence your capacity to work or your relationships with others.
Call Our Disability Benefits Lawyer in South Portland Now!
The key goal of the VA disability compensation program is to make it easier for veterans to get VA benefits. As such, it is difficult for everyone engaged in the claims process to understand the laws and regulations. PTSD veterans’ disability benefits process can be so complicated that even the Veterans Administration makes mistakes from time to time. This has the unfortunate consequence of denying many disabled veterans the benefits they are entitled to. Our PTSD veterans disability benefits lawyer in South Portland can assist you in gathering the proof you’ll need to prove your eligibility for veterans benefits.
Many of the lawyers at Jackson & MacNichol Law Offices have served in the military and are now assisting other veterans in obtaining the VA disability benefits to which they are entitled. Veterans who need to appeal a denial of their disability claim or whose VA disability rating is too low are typical clients for our company. As a result, our veterans benefits law firm is familiar with the claims procedure, what evidence is necessary to show service-connected PTSD, as well as how to optimize the disability rating to get you fair compensation when you apply for benefits.
If you’re a veteran dealing with PTSD, don’t wait to take action. Contact us now for a free consultation and let us protect your rights and fight for the benefits you’ve earned. Your service to our country deserves the best support—take the first step today and get the help you need.
