General Information

What is a presumptive condition and how does it affect claiming VA disability?

Presumptive conditions is another path to service connection like secondary and aggravation. Here is an example: If a Vietnam era veteran steps foot on Vietnam, they are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. The Agent Orange is not the condition that they are suffering from. They are not submitting a claim for Agent Orange. However, if later down in the road they develop diabetes or hypertension, VA presumes that the veteran was diagnosed with the diabetes as a result of their exposure to Agent Orange. So, presumptive service connection is when you are exposed to a toxin, chemical, or even a location and you develop a condition that VA has a list of medical conditions that have been applied. With the PAC Act, there was multiple presumptive conditions that were added for Afghanistan, Middle East veterans that suffered through burn pits or were deployed such as rhinitis, sinusitis, and there’s other restrictions. It is believed that asthma after 10 years must be diagnosed after their discharge. So, there is a presumptive service connection, but there are also some caveats with the condition.    If you were down range and you think you might have a condition, check VA’s website of presumptive conditions to see if you have it. And if you do have a medical condition that has been diagnosed and you meet the requirements of where

you were deployed, submit the claim (with your VSO’s help) under a presumptive basis.

So, another example might be: if someone was putting in a claim for a knee issue, they would have to prove that it happened in service like they fell off a truck and here is the medical record for them falling off a truck. But with a presumptive condition it is just if you were at this place at this time and you were diagnosed with this condition VA just automatically grants the nexus for that. They presume it to happen. So, it is approved.

The example of falling off the truck is what VA calls an event in service. The most common type of service connection is called direct service connection and it requires three things. It requires 1) an event in service. 2) a current diagnosis and 3) requires a medical opinion, also known as a nexus, linking the event in service to the current diagnosis.

Here is another example: The knee incident - say you never fell off a truck while on active duty, but you were in a car accident after your discharge. Well, unfortunately, that car accident was not the event in service. You might have a current diagnosis, but if you do not have an event in service for the knee condition, VA is going to deny the condition. So, all three are required. Without it, you are not going to have a service-connected disability.