Secondary Service Connection Visual Guide Library

Five printable one-page charts for secondary VA claims: which direction the claim runs, the difference between caused, aggravated, and connected by an intermediate step, and how to read the Secondary Conditions Finder. Free to download, print, and share.

5 visual guides. These are static reference charts: the percentages printed on them are threshold labels that explain the tool, not live research values, so they do not change week to week. For live Board outcomes, use the Secondary Conditions Finder itself.

All 5 visual guides

Secondary service connection claim development flowchart showing the correct direction from a service-connected primary condition to a currently diagnosed secondary condition, followed by causation, aggravation, medical nexus, baseline, evidence, filing, examination, and VA decision checkpoints. — Core Guide **Secondary Service Connection Claim Development Flowchart** View full size · Download PNG · Download PDF

Guide to reading the Secondary Conditions Finder, with a sample network showing a selected center condition, inward and outward arrows, teal, purple, and dashed gray direction rings, green, amber, red, and low-volume relationship lines, and four steps for selecting a condition, setting direction, checking appeal volume, and opening list view. — Interactive Tool Orientation **How to Read the Secondary Conditions Finder** View full size · Download PNG · Download PDF

Claim-direction guide showing a service-connected primary condition pointing toward a currently diagnosed secondary condition, with correct framing, common direction errors, a plain-language claim statement, and explanations of incoming, outgoing, and both-direction graph views. — Interactive Tool Orientation **Primary to Secondary: Which Direction Is the Claim?** View full size · Download PNG · Download PDF

Three-column guide comparing secondary service connection based on causation, incremental aggravation, and an intermediate step, followed by four medical-opinion requirements covering direction, mechanism, chronology, separate theories, and competing causes. — Interactive Tool Orientation **Caused, Aggravated, or Connected by an Intermediate Step?** View full size · Download PNG · Download PDF

Comparison of the full Secondary Conditions Finder and a focused diagnostic-code graph, explaining that the full finder explores incoming and outgoing relationships while the condition-page graph shows conditions claimed secondary to one selected diagnostic code. — Interactive Tool Orientation **Full Network vs Condition-Page Graph** View full size · Download PNG · Download PDF

Start with the interactive finder

These charts explain a tool, they do not replace it. The Secondary Conditions Finder maps which conditions veterans actually claimed as secondary to each other in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions, with appeal counts and grant rates you can filter. Read a chart first if the map is unfamiliar, then use the map for your own conditions.

Common Questions

Can I download, print, and share these guides?

Yes. Every guide has a free full-resolution PNG and a PDF, sized for printing on letter paper or reading on a phone. Share them freely. They are educational reference charts, not legal advice.

Do the percentages on these charts update?

No, and that is deliberate. The numbers printed on these five charts are threshold labels that explain how to read the finder, for example what counts as a high or a low grant-rate band. They are not live research values. Every live figure lives on the Secondary Conditions Finder, which refreshes weekly.

Does a connection on the map prove my claim?

No. The map reports patterns across published Board appeals. It does not prove a medical nexus in your case and it does not predict your result. A secondary claim still needs a current diagnosis, a service-connected primary condition, and a medical opinion linking them.

Related Tools and Guides

Secondary Conditions Finder

The interactive map these charts explain, with appeal counts and grant rates from published Board decisions.

Secondary Claims Guide

How a secondary claim works, from the three elements to the evidence that supports it.

Secondary vs Aggravation

The difference between a condition caused by another and one made worse by it, and why the baseline matters.

Nexus Letters

What a medical opinion linking two conditions needs to say to carry weight.

Educational use only. These visual guides catalogue published VA rules and patterns observed in published Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions. They are not legal advice, they do not prove a medical nexus, and they do not predict the outcome of any individual claim. RateMyVSO is not affiliated with the VA.