PTSD Disability Claims

An Essential Guide for U.S. Veterans

Up to 30% of U.S. military veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in response to stressful events that occurred during service. But winning VA PTSD disability benefits can be challenging.

VA denies hundreds of valid PTSD claims each year, blocking veterans from the benefits they deserve.

There are two key reasons the VA denies PTSD claims. The VA says the veteran failed to prove (1) a PTSD diagnosis or (2) a traumatic in-service event.

Proving you have a PTSD diagnosis seems straightforward, but the VA wants to see specific evidence from a doctor showing very specific criteria. And proving you experienced a traumatic in-service event gets even more complicated. Again, the VA wants very specific criteria, and in most cases, veterans have little to no record of the details surrounding their traumatic event(s), often because it was never reported or happened while off duty.

To win PTSD disability benefits, veterans must know what evidence the VA wants to see and how to use that evidence in a compelling PTSD disability claim.