Causation of an injury or illness: obtaining the «military injury» wording

What is happening

The causation wording is a few words in a finding on which the insurance payment, the lump sum benefit, the size of a disability pension and part of the benefits all depend. On paper the difference between ‘military injury’ and ‘illness contracted during the period of military service’ looks small; in its consequences it is enormous.

The problem usually lies not in the medicine but in the paperwork: nobody recorded how the injury happened. There is no wound certificate, no inquiry file, and the medical records say simply ‘trauma’ without any note of the circumstances.

A separate category is illness that developed or sharply worsened because of the conditions of service: the after-effects of concussion, conditions that began after long periods in the field, mental disorders following combat. There the link has to be proved through the medical file and the circumstances of service.

What the law says

• The finding on the causal link of an injury or illness is issued by the military medical board; it is a conclusion in its own right, separate from the fitness category.
• The ‘military injury’ wording applies where the injury or illness is connected with the performance of military service duties, including tasks carried out in the special military operation.
• Entitlement to the insurance payment and the lump sum benefit under the law on service pay (306-FZ), and the scope of guarantees under the law on the status of servicemen (76-FZ), follow from this wording.
• The board must assess not only the medical records but also the documents on the circumstances: the wound certificate, the inquiry file and extracts from orders.
• The absence of a wound certificate does not close the question: the circumstances may be proved by other evidence, including accounts from fellow servicemen.
• A causation finding is challenged before the higher military medical board and in court, where contested points are referred to expert examination.

What we do

• We examine the finding and identify precisely which evidence the board found wanting.
• We obtain from the unit the documents on the circumstances: the wound certificate, the inquiry file, combat orders and extracts from orders.
• We collect the medical records from the first time you sought help — these often decide the outcome.
• We trace fellow servicemen, take their accounts and prepare their written statements for the board and the court.
• We prepare the complaint to the higher board and pursue a fresh finding on causation.
• We challenge the finding in court and apply for a court-ordered military medical examination.

What we need from you

• The board finding or certificate of illness with its present causation wording.
• The wound (injury) certificate, or confirmation that none was issued.
• Medical records from the moment of the injury: first aid, hospital, later treatment.
• Extracts from orders on the tasks you carried out, official travel and presence in a particular area.
• The internal inquiry file on the injury, written reports and explanations.
• Details of fellow servicemen who were present and can confirm the circumstances.