Both the DoD and the
VA will only give Military Disability Ratings for conditions that are service-connected.
Once a service member has been in the military for 8 years or more, however, all
of his genetic or EPTS conditions are automatically considered service-connected, and thus
ratable. See our discussion of Service-Connection After 8 Years of Active Duty Service for complete details and exceptions.
Since DoD Disability
is only given once at the time of the service member’s separation from the
military, it will be given for every condition he has that makes him Unfit for Duty at that time.
VA Disability,
however, can change over time as conditions worsen or improve or as new
conditions develop. This presents an interesting challenge when dealing with
conditions that alone aren’t service-connected but are considered
service-connected because of the length of active duty service. Basically, if a
condition develops after a veteran is out of the military, it is eligible for
VA Disability as long as it can be proven to be caused by a service-connected
condition or, in the case of 8 years or more of active duty service, as long as
it develops within the 1st year after separation from the military.
This sounds more
complicated than it is, so here’s an example.
Let’s say Jim has
cancer and served for 10 years.
- If it developed while on active duty, it is ratable.
- If it developed within 1 year of separation from the military, the VA will rate it, but not the DoD since it has to be present at the time of separation for the DoD to rate it.
- If it didn’t develop until more than 1 year after separation, then it is only ratable by the VA if it can be proven to have been caused by another service-connected condition or was a direct result of military experiences, like exposure to chemicals while on active duty.
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