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VA Wants You to Reaaply for Benefits
By USVCP Staff Members
June 30, 2018
Military veterans receive multiple benefits following their service, but officials say some don't realize they can reaaply for benefits that were previously denied.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is spreading the word throughout their offices around the country that veterans who have had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder claims denied, particularly
military sexual trauma, can and should reapply for disability benefits.
The VA health system reports one in 100 men and one in 5 women have experienced sexual abuse while serving in the military.
In the past, if a veteran wanted to file for PTSD disability for sexual abuse, a report or evidence had to be on record of the abuse.
If not, the VA had to legally throw out the disability claim.
Now the VA is reminding veterans that changes in the law say a new sexual abuse investigation can be made, even if sexual assault was not reported during their active duty.
It's an attempt to get more veterans the benefits they deserve from serving our country.
And as Hancock County Veterans Services director Nichole Coleman says, a second look at a denied claim could help.
"Often times, what happens when a veteran applies for
disability benefits and they are denied, you feel kind of betrayed, and often times don't look at it any further," said Coleman. "If you don't have an expert helping you, you don't know what to look for to potentially give the VA the opportunity to grant you that
disability. And that's what we're here for."
Veteran services can also help grant veterans counseling alone, if they did not want to file for disability benefits.
