Service Connected?

[Vet2014]

Hello fellow vets.

I was stationed in Germany in 1999 and had an accident on my way to work in my personal vehicle. From the accident I lower back pain which was all documented from when I was in the hospital after the wreck. My question is will this be considered service connected when I get my claim awarded? Thanks

[toddt]

Generally any injury or illness that occurred or was aggravated during the time you were on active duty is an injury or illness that occurred “in the line of duty”. For example, injuries you sustained in an automobile accident while you were on active duty are considered injuries that occurred in the line of duty.

However, any injury or illness that resulted from your own misconduct or abuse of alcohol and drugs will not be considered “in the line of duty.” Generally your claim for service-connected disability will be denied if the disability was a result of your own misconduct or abuse of alcohol and drugs.

[georgiapapa]

Vet2014,

You will have to show a nexus or connection between any medical conditions you have now and your military service. The back injuries you referred to in your post occurred 15 years ago so you will need to show a continuity of treatment for your back injuries since 1999 or be able to find a doctor who is willing to provide you with an IMO stating your current medical conditions were "as likely as not" caused by your accident during your military service. The doctor will have to show reasonable rationale to support his/her opinion.

Provide your military medical records to your doctor so he/she can refer to the records in his/her IMO. Also, provide your doctor with any other medical records since your discharge and any other supporting documentation. All of these same records along with the IMO will need to be submitted along with your claim.

Good luck to you and thank you for your service.

[broncovet]

You have been given good advice:

1. Your car accident is "in the line of duty", unless you were doing something bad, alcohol, drugs etc, as long as you were in service.

2. As Georgia papa suggested, however, you will need a docs opinion (nexus) that your current condition is "at least as likely as not" caused by your car accident or other incident in military service.

You need 3 things for service connection:

1. Current diagnosis of illness or injury (no diagnosis, no compensation)

2. In service event, or aggravation during service.

3. Nexus, or link, between 1 and 2 above.

Without all 3 of these, you are not going to get service connection.

[Fat]

I would like to clarify further..........

1. Documented sickness or injury in military records.

a. is the disability acute or chronic in nature.

b. If deemed chronic, the injury is considered static or permanent in nature.

c. acute conditions are deemed able to improve; however they limit everyday activities (residuals)..

2. You need to show continuous treatment for the injury or residuals related to the injury.

a. residuals are injuries/ailments related to the primary injury. They might be filed under secondary claims. Get a IMO to help establish them.

3. Last, a nexus letter from a medical specialist or treating physician clearly showing current disability is related to military accident.