Requesting Compensation For A New Disability
You normally do this if you are already getting VA disability, or have filed before and were denied. For example, you hurt your back while in the military so the VA is paying you disability compensation for a bad back. Now, you realize you are having hearing issues that may be related to your military service.
In this case, you just have to file a new disability claim with the VA. Some disabilities may have time limits, and you do have to document everything just like any other application for VA disability.
Check out our tips for filing a disability claim.
Increase Va Disability Rating Tip #5: Nail Your Compensation And Pension Exam
According to Brian Reese the VA Claims Insider, the VA Compensation and Pension exam, also known as a C&P exam is the #1 most important day in the VA claim process.
A veteran can do everything else right to try to increase your VA disability rating, but if you miss your C&P exam or worse, get a Bad C&P Examiner, the results can make or break your final VA rating.
Itsshameful I know; however, the sad reality is that the RVSR will rely almost solelyon the exam notes presented by the in-person C&P examiner.
Dont worrythough, even if you have a terrible C and P exam, there is still hope and youcan fight it!
Fellow veterans, read my
Tip #1. Know whats in your medical records! Read through your records in the days prior to your C&P exam. There is no substitute for knowing whats in your service treatment records, VA medical records, or any private medical records.
Tip #2. Review the eCFR, Title 38, Part 4, Schedule for Rating Disabilities for the VA disabilities youre about to be examined for. This is the governing law for all VA disability claims.
Tip #3. Do NOT have your best daythis does NOT mean you should lie or stretch the truth. This means that you need to tell the C&P examiner how you are on your very worst days.
Tip #5. VA claims for mental health conditions come down to your current level of Occupational and Social Impairment. VA Claims for other conditions are all about Pain and Limitation of Range of Motion.
WATCH: My Top 5 C&P Exam Tips Explained!
I Am Rated 40% By The Va For One Disability And 10% For Another Why Isnt My Overall Rating 50%
If a VA compensation claim results in a benefit approval, the VA will assign a disability rating. A VA benefit award can result in a combination of several disabilities, which are rated at different percentages.
For example, a veteran can have one rating of 40% for a back injury, a rating of 10% for tinnitus, and a rating of 20% for a knee injury. The combined rating is not the sum of the individual ratings.In this example, the combined rating is not 70% . Rather the combined rating is 60%.
The combined rating is based upon a series of calculations, which the VA describes as the efficiency to perform work factor. The calculations begin with sorting the individual rating percentages descending from the highest to the lowest rating. In the example under consideration, you sort the percentages descending from 40% to 20% to 10%. Then, subtract the highest from 100% .
When the VA establishes that the veteran is 40% disabled for the back injury, that veteran has a remaining efficiency to perform work at a 60% level. Then, looking at the example, the veteran is 20% disabled from the knee injury. The next calculation takes this efficiency into account. According to the VA, the veteran can only perform 20% times the 60% of the remaining efficiency, which is 12%. The VA adds this remaining efficiency rating to the first rating of 40%, which results in a combined rating of 52%.
Burn Pits And Pulmonary Hypertension
There has been evidence suggesting that burn pits used by the U.S. Military can cause lung conditions that lead to pulmonary hypertension. Smoke from these burn pits contained toxic substances that traveled into living areas on military bases. Exposure to burn pits has also been linked to many other diseases, so check out the list of presumptive conditions caused by burn pits.
Just recently, asthma has been made a presumptive condition of burn pits. Since asthma has been proven to make pulmonary hypertension worse, the service-connected asthma from burn pits could help you prove a service connection for PH. Every combination of lung conditions is different, but as congress rules that a condition like asthma is a presumptive disability, other conditions are easier to prove also.
Burn Pit Presumptive Conditions List
As more veterans develop symptoms caused by burn pit exposure, the VA is building their list of presumptive conditions for disability ratings.
See the Burn Pit Presumptive List
List Of The Top 7 Best Ways To Get 100 Va Disability
How to Get 100 VA Disability
- Tip #1: Use to Get Your Current Symptoms Documented in VA Medical Records
- Tip #3: Have a Doctor Complete for Conditions Already Service Connected
- Tip #4: File for Secondary Service Connection with Credible Medical Nexus Letters
- Tip #5: Obtain a Buddy Letter from a First-Hand Witness
- Tip #7: File for Total Disability Individual Unemployability
Okay, lets explore in detail how to get a 100 percent VA disability rating, regardless of your current rating or even if youve been denied VA benefits in the past.
Veterans, if youve ever wondered How to Get 100 VA Disabilitypay close attention because these tips are for you:
About The Va Disability Rating System
Veterans with a disability that developed or worsened while serving in the military or due to military service may be eligible for Service-Connected disability pay.
Conditions covered by these benefits typically include:
- Physical disabilities including hearing loss, chronic back pain, asthma and cancers caused by contact with toxic chemicals.
- Mental disabilities including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder , depression and traumatic brain injury .
Find a complete list of covered conditions here.
For every disability claim, the Department of Veterans Affairs assigns a severity rating ranging from 0-100%. This rating moves in 10% increments, is based on service treatment records, VA medical records, and private medical records directly relating to the disability.
For Veterans with more than one disability, the VA uses the combined rating table to calculate your disability percentage.
Get Help With Increasing Your Va Disability Rating For Your Back Injury
Going through the process of getting your disability rating increased for back pain or a back injury can be a frustrating and confusing process. The VA disability lawyers at Woods and Woods can help ensure that you receive the maximum compensation youre entitled to receive from the VA the first time you file a disability claim.
We also work with veterans who have had their back conditions worsen with time to help them successfully increase their disability ratings as well as assist them in filing appeals and supplemental claims.
Talk to Us About Your Claim:
A family-owned business since 1985, our VA disability lawyers have helped countless veterans get the highest disability rating they deserve for their service-connected back injuries. We also assist the surviving spouses of deceased service members to obtain the benefits to which theyre entitled.
We never charge a fee to help you apply for disability benefits or increase your disability rating you only pay if we are successful in increasing your disability rating in your VA benefits case.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with our VA disability lawyers to discuss how we can help you increase your VA disability rating for back pain.
Va Disability Rating For Knee Arthritis
Arthritis is a common cause of knee pain among veterans that can result in debilitating pain affecting your daily life, including the ability to exercise, engage in hobbies, run errands, do chores, and work. There are two types of arthritis recognized by the VA that can appear in the knees degenerative arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The VA disability rating for knee arthritis can go up to 100% for rheumatoid arthritis if the condition causes you to be completely incapacitated. Degenerative arthritis also known as osteoarthritis is given a disability rating of 10%-20%. You may be able to increase your rating by combining multiple conditions or adding secondary conditions to your osteoarthritis claim.
Rheumatoid arthritis often worsens over time. In addition to affecting your knees, it can attack the rest of your body. Your disability rating for rheumatoid arthritis will increase based on the number of flareups that occur within a year. For example, a veteran who has three or more episodes that result in incapacitation per year will receive a disability rating of 40%.
The rating will increase to 60% if symptoms worsen, resulting in four or more incapacitating episodes each year, and if other symptoms manifest, such as weight loss, anemia, and an overall decline in health. Once rheumatoid arthritis has spread throughout your body and causes you to be bedridden and completely incapacitated, the VA will assign a 100% rating.
How To Get Increased Disability Compensation
Did you know that you can have your VA disability compensation benefit increased by the Department of Veterans Affairs?
Many types of medical conditions get worse over time. If you are getting disability benefits from the VA, you have the right to request that your rating be increased if your medical condition gets worse or causes your health to deteriorate.
Before you file for an increase in your disability rating, make sure you know what you can expect from the VA, and be prepared for both the best and worst outcomes you might face after requesting a disability rating increase.
There are basically three different courses of action you can take when applying for an increase in disability benefits: requesting compensation for a new disability; filing for an increase to an existing disability because the condition has gotten worse, or you can disagree with the VA’s current disability rating decision.
How Can Veterans Earn A 100% Disability Rating & Maximum Compensation
If you sustained an injury or developed a medical condition following active duty or another type of military service, you may be eligible for VA disability benefits. However, you will need to meet certain qualifications to earn maximum compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This process starts with earning a 100% disability rating.
There are many factors that go into a VA disability rating and full-time benefits, and the application process for a VA claim can be complicated. This guide will break down how veterans can earn a 100% disability rating from the VA and as many monetary benefits as possible. In some instances, VA health care benefits are possible as well.
Surgery For Pulmonary Hypertension
If medications are unable to provide relief from pulmonary hypertension symptoms, surgery may be required. There are three surgeries available:
Will I Receive Higher Va Benefits If I Request An Increase In My Disability Rating
If youve been approved for service-connected disability benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs , the agency will assign a disability rating that specifies the seriousness of your condition. You can be given a rating of 0 to 100 percent, and this percentage is associated with a certain monetary amount youll receive for the disability. Even if youre assigned a 0 percent rating, the VA still acknowledges that the service-connected condition exists, but it doesn’t affect your ability to hold a job or function on a daily basis.
Additionally, a 0 percent rating can increase your healthcare eligibility, and if your condition worsens in the future, you can file to increase your VA disability rating instead of starting the application process over. To receive VA benefits, you dont have to be completely disabled; however, your condition must have a 10 percent rating to receive financial compensation.
Can I Get Va Disability And Social Security Disability Benefits
It is possible to receive both VA Disability Benefits and SSDI at the same time. However, if your VA Benefits total over $1,260, you may not be eligible for SSDI benefits, unless you can show that your most recent non-military employment provided income of a greater amount than that. Social Security Disability Insurance is provided to individuals whose work history has furnished a significant number of credits to collect monthly benefit payments should they become unable to work because of an injury or illness that prevents them from working or will result in death.
Speaking of collecting disability compensation in conjunction with other benefits like unemployment or general disability pay, dont write off collecting disability benefits from the VA if you already collect military retirement pay. Military retirees receiving a pension may still be eligible for disability compensation from the VA, for instance, if you have developed an illness that can be traced back to your active duty. In some instances, a disease that is not manifested until years after military retirement may necessitate the services of legal counsel to recover a monthly benefit payment.
I Was Denied An 100 Percent Va Disability Rating; What Now
Unfortunately, many veterans are denied their VA disability benefits. The good news is your denial is not the end of your claim with the Veterans Administration. If you were denied an 100 percent VA disability rating within the last one year, you may be able to appeal. VA disability appeals are lengthy and complex.
The first thing our VA benefits appeals lawyers suggest you do after a denial is get qualified help. Too often veterans contact our law firm too late in the process and sometimes we cant help. We regularly get calls from veterans who have already made a mess of their 100 percent VA disability rating appeal.
What you need for a successful VA disability appeal:
Secondary Conditions To Lower Back Pain
If your back pain is severe but doesnt qualify you for a 100% VA disability rating, you may be able to file a claim for a secondary condition to lower back pain, such as , to potentially increase your overall disability rating.
Radiculopathy is caused by compression of the nerves at the location they leave the spinal cord. The VA disability rating for radiculopathy depends on the part of the back where the condition occurs. Just like , when radiculopathy occurs to the lumbar spine, it can cause tingling pain and numbness down to the feet. Lumbar spine radiculopathy can also result in a condition known as foot drop, for which the VA may assign a disability rating of 80%.
Get Our Team Started Reviewing Your Case for Free Today
Radiculopathy ratings start at 20% for a case with mild symptoms and can increase to 50% for a severe case. However, the VA disability rating for radiculopathy can go up to 70% when shoulder and elbow movement is lost, but hand and wrist movements still function. The difference in the condition between a veteran who receives a 20% rating or a 70% rating depends on the severity of the neurological impairments
You can go from a 70% disability rating to a 100% disability rating by combining radiculopathy with other conditions. The 70% rating also would make you eligible for TDIU which is equivalent to the compensation for a 100% disability rating.
#3: The Tdiu Rating 100% When You Cant Make A Living
This is a unique type of rating that occurs when a Veteran, because of his or her service-connected conditions, is unable to engage in substantially gainful activity.
In such cases, the Veteran will be rated at 100% disabled due to TDIU, even though the total schedular VA Disability Ratings are not 100%.
38 CFR 4.16a has what I call the 60/70-40 Rule if your ratings reach those specific schedular levels, you may be entitled to a TDIU 100% rating.
38 CFR 4.16b has another way its confusingly called extra-schedular TDIU.
In a nutshell, if your service connected conditions, whether they are rated 90% or 10%, are severe enough to cause you to be unable to get substantially gainful activity, you can get a 100% TDIU rating.
These are tough claims to prove, but just know that you do not have to meet the 60/70-40 Rule to qualify for a 100% TDIU rating.
Va Benefits Increase Tip #1: Use Myhealthevet To Get Your Current Symptoms Documented In Va Medical Records
If youre having symptoms of a disability condition, andespecially if those symptoms are now worse, you need to ensure these symptomsget documented in your VA medical records.
Did you know you can secure message with your VA healthcareprovider, and those message notes become part of your VA medical records?
Yep, its the truth.
Veterans, your secure messages from MyHealtheVet go straightinto your VA medical records.
This means you can document symptoms of your disabilities,which will be critical when you prepare and file a VA disability increase claim.
For example, lets say youre reviewing the PTSD Rating Scaleand youre already service connected at 30% for PTSD, butyou believe your mental health symptoms are much more severe, and you should beat 70%for PTSD based upon 38CFR VA Schedule of Ratings.
and start a secure message conversation with your VA mental health provider.
Youll want to tell them about your current mental healthsymptoms.
For example, you could type a message such as:
Its imperative that your current symptoms get documented insideyour VA medical records.
Why do I say this?
Well, remember that all VA disability ratings come down toseverity of symptoms.
You need to prove that your symptoms are now worse, and inour experience, the best way to do that is with new and relevantmedical evidence.
You must explain HOW your current disability is limiting or affecting your work, life, and social functioning in a negative way.
% Disabled Veteran Benefits: Get Help Now
Are you receiving the VA disability benefits you are entitled to receive by law? If you need assistance appealing VA Rating Decisions for mental health conditions or physical disabilities that occurred in service, please contact the Berry Law Firm. It can be very difficult to deal with the deep levels of bureaucracy that come with the VA, and we are very familiar with working with that situation. Founded by Veterans, we are fully aware of the difficulties that many Veterans face when getting the compensation and help that they deserve. If you or any Veteran you know needs help, dont hesitate to reach out to us as soon you can. to schedule a time to talk to a member of our team to determine if we can help you with your VA appeal.
How Can I Increase My Va Disability Rating For Back Pain
If you believe that your VA disability rating for back pain should be increased, you can file an appeal within one year from the date that you received your disability rating. If you choose to appeal the decision, you may do so by choosing one of three lanes:
- Higher-level review
- Submitting a Notice of Disagreement
- Filing a supplemental claim if there is new evidence that the VA didnt previously consider in your claim
If your condition worsens and youre outside the one-year time frame to file an appeal, you can file a new claim for an increased rating. You can also file a claim for a secondary condition at any time, which could potentially result in an increased disability rating.
This firm has been helping veterans for much longer than most. My experience with them is they never stop trying to get the most for their clients.
Put us to work answering your questions today.
Va Disability Rating For Bulging Disc
While the VA often uses range of motion testing to give a disability rating for bulging discs, your condition may instead be evaluated under the diagnostic code for intervertebral disc syndrome , if certain criteria are met. Depending on how many incapacitating episodes occurred within a one-year time frame, the VA may give you a disability rating for IVDS ranging from 10% to 60%.
How Do Disability Ratings Work
For Veterans, the amount of financial compensation and help that they receive is based on their disability rating. This is a percentage, from 0 to 100 percent, that details and determines how much compensation a Veteran will receive. The amount itself is determined in a myriad of ways, but it generally comes back to doctors assessing the level of the disability and communicating their professional opinions to the VA. The VA will then take that assessment and balance it with other factors and medical history behind the Veterans injuries.
For the veterans disability rating to be accepted by the VA, it needs to be service-connected. That means that the disabling injury needs to be ensured that its original source and origin come from the Veterans time in the line of duty and an event that happened there. The doctors will go through the medical history of the Veteran and make sure that the injury does, in fact, appear to be connected fairly directly to the events that happened while the Veteran was in service.
Group 5: Pulmonary Hypertension Triggered By Other Health Conditions
Sometimes other health issues can cause pulmonary hypertension and those include:
- Inflammatory disorders like vasculitis and
- Metabolic disorders, including glycogen storage disease
- Tumors pressing against pulmonary arteries
- Blood disorders, including essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia
- Genetics
In this video, one of our VA disability lawyers talks about disabilities caused by burn pits used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Getting Benefits At The 100 Percent Level Based On Unemployability
If you do not qualify for 100 percent VA disability on the rating schedule, but your condition renders you unable to work, you may be eligible to receive the maximum VA benefit based on your inability to work. VA offers an alternative program called Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability .
You can qualify for TDIU two ways:
Increase Va Disability Rating Tip #1: Focus On High Value Va Disability Claims
A High-Value VA Claim is a disability or condition with a HIGH likelihood of getting rated at 30% or higher on its own.
Focusing on High-Value VA disability claims is a great way to increase your VA disability rating in less time.
These includeVA claims such as Mental Health Conditions , Sleep Apnea Claims, Migraines, and Respiratory Conditions , among others.
Versus a Low-ValueVA Claim, which is a disability or condition with a LOW likelihood of gettingrated at 30% or higher on its own.
These includeVA disability claims like Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, Scars, and MusculoskeletalConditions.
What is the VAs Fuzzy Math?
Veterans must understand that theyre battling against the VAs fuzzy math calculation when trying to increase their service-connected VA rating.
If youre tryingto go from 70% to 100% or 80% to 100%, you must layer in some High Value Claimsor increase the VA rating on conditions already service connected, otherwise,you simply cant get there mathematically.
VA disabilitiesare NOT cumulativeinstead, they are factored into each other, in order, fromhighest VA rating down to lowest rating, and multiplied against one another todetermine your overall combined VA disability rating.
If you havemore than one disability rating from the VA, you can use the VA DisabilityRating Calculator to compute your combined rating in two simple steps.
>> Click HERE to access the VA Compensation Calculator now. <<
60% of yourbody is disabled, which leaves or 40% healthy.