The five elements of a successful claim

The Caluza three-element test is the legal core. The five elements below are the practical checklist you should run before submitting anything.

1. Eligibility: You served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, and you were not discharged under conditions that bar benefits (dishonorable, in most cases).
2. Current disability: A diagnosed condition documented in a current medical record.
3. In-service event: Evidence that something happened in service — an injury, an illness, an exposure, or a documented complaint of symptoms.
4. Nexus: A medical opinion linking the current disability to the in-service event (or to an already-SC condition, for secondaries).
5. Current severity: Medical evidence showing how disabling the condition is right now, which determines the percentage rating.

Key concept

Element 5 — current severity — is where most veterans leave money on the table. They establish service connection, get a low rating, and stop there. Documenting the FULL severity (symptoms, frequency, functional impact, flare-ups) is what turns a 10% rating into a 50% rating for the same condition.

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