Many of my previous articles on veterans’ benefits and how to file a claim for those benefits covered filing a claim for service-connected disability compensation. In those articles, I tried to help educate military members and veterans on the following types of service-connected disability claims: 1) Original Claims, 2) Worsening Conditions Claims, 3) New Claims, 4) Secondary Service-Connection Claims, 5) Special Claims, and 6) Supplemental Claims.
This article will provide a refresher on service-connection disability claims and additional information on secondary service-connection claims.
Original claim
The first claim submitted for disability compensation for disabilities/conditions that:
- The veteran’s condition predated military service and worsened during service.
- The injuries, illnesses, wounds, traumas, events, burns, scars, HAZMAT exposures, and injuries/diseases caused by those exposures while serving in the military.
- Those disabilities or conditions that the veteran developed after they separated/discharged from the military but were caused by their service (for example, presumptive cancers caused by Agent Orange or health conditions caused by Burn Pits, Asbestos, etc.). Learn more at the VA webpage Types of Disability Claims and When to File (https://bit.ly/4byW6b2).
Increased claim for worsening conditions
Veterans can file a claim for increased disability compensation if they have a rated service-connected disability that’s gotten worse. Veterans need to submit up-to-date medical evidence that shows their disability has gotten worse. Veterans can file an increased claim for:
- An increase in the veteran’s disability rating.
- More financial support.
Find out more about how to file a claim for disability compensation at How to File a VA Disability Claim, https://bit.ly/4rJSZTL.
New claim
Veterans can file a claim for added benefits or other benefit requests related to an existing service-connected disability. Veterans can file a new claim to request these benefit changes:
- More financial support.
- Special monthly payments.
- A shift to Individual Unemployability (IU) status (a status given to Veterans who are unable to work because of a disability).
Learn more about IU at the VA webpage, Individual Unemployability if You Can’t Work (https://bit.ly/3PkCa4z).
The VA decision on a veteran’s new claim will be based only on NEW evidence (like a doctor’s report or medical test results) that the veteran gives the VA to support their claim. The VA WILL NOT consider any evidence the veteran may have provided regarding past claims. Find out how to file a service-connected disability claim at How to File a VA Disability Claim (https://bit.ly/4rPNmna).
Special claim
Veterans can file a special claim to request compensation for special needs. Examples of special needs include:
- A specially equipped vehicle if the veteran’s service-connected disability prevents them from driving; or
- Temporary payments if the veteran is recovering from surgery or other treatment and unable to move; or
- Increased payments if the veteran can’t work because of your service-connected disability.
Learn more about special claims at https://bit.ly/4lSNAc0.
Supplemental claims
Veterans can file a supplemental claim if they can provide new evidence to support a disability claim that was denied. The veteran must meet BOTH of these requirements:
- The VA decided the claim in the past; and
- The veteran’s claim isn’t a contested claim.
And the veteran must meet at least one of these requirements:
- The veteran has new and relevant evidence to submit; or
- The veteran is requesting a review of their claim based on a change in law (such as the PACT Act).
Learn more about contested claims at Contested Claims (https://bit.ly/4rOLDyw).
Secondary service-Connected claim
Veterans can file a secondary claim to get more disability benefits for a new disability that’s linked to a service-connected disability they already have. A secondary service-connection is when a service-connected condition causes or creates a new disability (condition).
Here are some examples of when a veteran might file a secondary claim:
- The veteran develops arthritis that’s caused by a service-connected knee injury the veteran got while on active duty.
- The veteran develops heart disease that’s caused by the high blood pressure the VA already concluded was connected to your service.
- The veteran suffers from a service-connected Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and then develops Migraine Headaches from the TBI.
- The veteran is being treated for a VA-determined service-connected health/disability (condition) by the VA or any other healthcare system, and the medication causes a new health or disability, the veteran can claim that new condition as a secondary service-connected condition.
This author is very familiar with the secondary condition of migraines caused by TBIs because I suffered a dozen TBIs during my 24 years of military service, and I have had daily and frequently terrible migraine headaches since my second TBI in Vietnam on March 28, 1969.
According to the VA YouTube SITREP titled “Secondary Condition for Medication Side Effects (VA Compensation-theSITREP),” dated Jan. 28, 2026, found at https://bit.ly/41qhURA, a common example of a secondary claim would be a male veteran who suffers from a mental health condition, and the antidepressant medication the VA prescribes for the depression causes or worsens the veteran’s erectile dysfunction. The VA calls the loss “SMCK” or loss of or loss of use of a creative organ, and other conditions, such as loss of or loss of use of both buttocks, one hand or foot, or other such conditions.
If a medication or treatment of a condition starts to create a new disabling condition, that new condition (called a secondary service-connected condition) can be granted as service-connected. If a veteran has a service-connected orthopedic joint condition, such as the left knee or left hip, and begins to walk with an altered, unhealthy gait, and later develops a right knee or right hip condition, the new condition may be granted by the VA as a secondary service-connected injury or condition. This award is justified based on the fact that the original left side caused or created a new and separate service-connected condition on the right-side knee, hip, or both.
This author is familiar with other disabling secondary conditions that developed after my original wounds in Vietnam. My L1 and L2 vertebrae were fractured in a helicopter crash. The crash destroyed 86 percent of my L1 vertebra, and my spine slowly developed more and more pain, a scoliosis (spine curvature), L4/L5 spondylosis, spinal osteoarthritis, and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal from osteoarthritis/hardening tissue). All of these secondary disabling conditions were awarded by the VA as secondary service-connected conditions to compression fractures.
Larry Dandridge is a Vietnam War wounded warrior, a combat and 100% service-connected disabled veteran, an ex-Enlisted Infantryman, an ex-Warrant Officer Pilot, and a retired Lt. Colonel. He is a former Veterans Service Officer, a Patient Adviser at the RHJ VA and Durham VA Medical Centers, a Fisher House Charleston Goodwill Ambassador, and the Veteran Benefits Advisor for the AUSA Coastal Carolina Chapter, MOPH Chapter, MOAA Triangle Chapter, and VFW Post 7383. Larry is also the author of the award-winning Blades of Thunder (Book One) and a contributing freelance writer with the Island News. Contact him at LDandridge@earthlink.net or 843-276-7164.