Determination of helplessness and the levels of care allowance for war victims

If you are helpless as a result of an injury, you can apply for a monthly care allowance.

Helplessness is assumed, for example, in the case of these health disorders recognized as consequences of injury:

• Blindness and severe visual impairment
• Paraplegia and other disabilities that require the permanent and constant use of a wheelchair, including within the home
• Brain damage, seizure disorders, mental disability and psychoses, if these health disorders alone result in a degree of impairment (GdS) of 100
• Loss of two or more limbs, excluding amputation of the lower leg or foot on both sides

The principles set out in the Versorgungsmedizin-Verordnung (VersMedV) apply to the determination of helplessness and the levels of care allowance.

You are deemed to be helpless if you require permanent external assistance for a series of frequently and regularly recurring activities to ensure your personal existence.

This also applies if:

• the assistance is required in the form of supervision or guidance

or

• the assistance does not have to be provided on a permanent basis, but constant readiness to provide assistance is required.