Common Legal Challenges Faced by Veterans With PTSD: How Lawyers Can Assist

A lawyer with experience in veterans’ disability cases can help you gather the evidence needed to prove service-connected PTSD and get a disability rating that reflects your condition’s seriousness. A lawyer can also use your diagnosis to help you win an appeal against a conviction or get a reduced sentence on criminal charges.

Getting a Diagnosis

PTSD can have significant and enduring effects. It can lead to problems with work and relationships and affect how people react to traumatic events, including flashbacks and nightmares. People may feel angry, sad, distrustful or guilty. They may avoid people, places or things that remind them of the trauma and have trouble concentrating or sleeping. There is no physical scan or blood test to diagnose PTSD, but a health care provider can diagnose it by talking with a person about their symptoms. To meet the criteria for PTSD, symptoms must last more than a month and interfere with everyday life. A healthcare provider will ask questions or use a standardized questionnaire to assess a person’s symptoms. These methods help ensure that the diagnosis is accurate and that other causes of a person’s symptoms are not overlooked.

Getting Help

For people with PTSD, getting help can mean going to mental health therapy, taking medication, or combining both. Treatment can be difficult, and it may take time for symptoms to improve. Family members can also struggle to watch their loved ones work. Symptoms of PTSD may be relieved by avoiding things that trigger the feelings and focusing on activities that provide a sense of control. These activities could include rhythmic exercise, reaching out to friends or donating to charity. Those diagnosed with PTSD can seek treatment from a mental health professional with experience treating the condition. They can ask their doctors for a referral or learn more about low-cost care options. Those who don’t have health insurance can also consider community programs and online support groups.

Filing a Claim

A claim asserts that one has a right to something, like benefits or the deed to a home. A veteran who has PTSD may be concerned that seeking a disability will result in the loss of their ability to own a gun. This is unfounded, as a diagnosis of PTSD will not impact a veteran’s right to own firearms. While PTSD is more common in veterans who have experienced combat, it can develop in any military service member who experiences a traumatic or life-changing event. This can include non-combat situations such as military sexual trauma or the death of a loved one on deployment. Studies on justice-involved veterans show that PTSD is linked to more legal problems, including violent offenses. This is due to the anger hyperarousal symptoms many people with PTSD experience.

Appealing a Denial

As a military member, you may have experienced trauma-related events that lead to PTSD or other mental health challenges. Trauma can impact not only military members but also their families and friends who support them.

PTSD-related problems can be difficult for families to understand and may cause them to distance themselves from others, including close friends and relatives. It’s important to remember that help is available.

Some veterans are denied benefits for treatment they feel is necessary and beneficial to their health. Fortunately, there are ways to appeal the decision. Pay attention to your insurance company’s timelines for filing an appeal. The sooner you begin, the better. A lawyer can help you with the process. Fortunately, you can browse PTSDLawyers.com to gain insight into the claim process and its workings.

Defending a Claim

If you disagree with some or all of the points made in the creditor’s particulars of claim, you can complete a defense form and send it to the court. Make sure to state which points you disagree with and explain why clearly.

Traumatic experiences during military deployment can leave lasting emotional scars. In some cases, they may even lead to PTSD. Symptoms can include repeated nightmares, avoidance of situations that trigger or remind you of traumatic events, and difficulty feeling loving toward others. Although several studies have explored the link between PTSD and criminal justice involvement, a full scoping review has not yet been conducted. If the evidence from these reviews suggests that combat trauma is one reason veterans risk becoming justice-involved, addressing it could reduce their future criminal behavior rates.