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What Is The Average Rating For Ptsd

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PTSD Rating Scale for VA Disability Claims Explained

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Have Questions About Your Ptsd Rating

In summary, the VA will automatically grant you a 50 percent PTSD rating if the military discharged you because of the condition. You will undergo re-evaluation in six months to determine if that rating is still appropriate. You are still eligible to apply for disability benefits if you have PTSD but did not receive a discharge because of it.

If the VA denied your PTSD claim, or awarded a lower rating than you anticipated, the attorneys at Hill & Ponton are here to help. Please complete this brief claim evaluation and we will follow up with you shortly.

What Are The Special Requirements For Ptsd Mst Claims

VA disability claims for PTSD MST require special care and handling by the Veteran Service Representative and VA Rater assigned to your claim.

Personal trauma for the purpose of Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation claims based on posttraumatic stress disorder refers broadly to stressor events involving harm perpetrated by a person who is not considered part of an enemy force.

Examples include, assault, battery, robbery, mugging, stalking, harassment.

Military Sexual Trauma is a subset of personal trauma and refers to sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape that occurs in a military setting.

Examples of PTSD MST include the following:

  • Being pressured or coerced into sexual activities, such as with threats of negative treatment if you refuse to cooperate or with promises of better treatment in exchange for sex,
  • Someone having sexual contact with you without your consent, such as when you were asleep or intoxicated,
  • Being physically forced to have sex,
  • Being touched in a sexual way that made you uncomfortable,

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Assistance With Your Claims And Appeals

PTSD is an all-too-common condition suffered by veterans, and no matter how mild or severe it may be, it warrants compensation from VA. Build the strongest case you can to file a claim or an appeal with us today. You can contact us at 844-VET-LAWS to ensure that you receive the appropriate compensation for your PTSD.

What Is The Va 5 Year Rule

We Analyzed 4.7 Million Veterans with a VA Rating: Heres What We ...

The VA disability 5 year rule allows the VA to ex-examine your VA disability rating within 5 years of your initial examination if your condition is expected to improve over time. However, the VA may still change your disability rating past the 5-year deadline if your condition has significantly improved.

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What Is The Va Ptsd Rating Criteria

Over 800,000 veterans receive VA compensation for some level of PTSD symptoms. The specific benefits are determined according to 38 CFR 4.126, a policy for evaluating disability from mental disorders. This policy requires the VA rating official to consider two rules when assigning a value:

  • The rating agency must consider the frequency, duration, and severity of psychiatric symptoms, length of remissions, and veterans capacity for adjustment during remission. The rating agency is required to assign an evaluation primarily based on evidence of an individuals social and occupational impairment as opposed to the examiners snapshot assessment.
  • The rating agency will consider aspects of social impairment, but the evaluation may not be based solely on social impairment. Occupational impairment is the primary concern of the VA.

From these rules, the VA provides a rating based on the symptoms and severity of impairment. The VA PTSD rating criteria are as follows:

Before receiving a rating, it is important for a veteran to confirm whether or not they qualify for PTSD benefits.

Proving A Service Connection

Once you have an official PTSD diagnosis, youll need to be able to prove a service connection for your condition. In essence, a service connection is a specific incident or set of circumstances that could have caused your condition. In the case of PTSD, almost any aspect of military service is enough to be a service connection.

If you served in a combat zone, were taken prisoner, or lost friends in the service, those can all qualify as service connections. Harsh service conditions, such as poor hygiene conditions or inhumane discipline can also qualify. The incident you use as your service connection will need to be something documented in your military records.

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How Does The Va Evaluate Ptsd

Generally, the more severe your symptoms are, the higher your rating will be. To determine your disability rating for PTSD, VA uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders under 38 CFR § 4.130. This rating scale ranges from 0 percent to 100 percent with in-between ratings of 10, 30, 50, and 70 percent.

Why Va May Reduce Your Disability Rating For Ptsd

70% PTSD VA Rating: What it Means and How to Qualify

Your VA disability rating for PTSD is based on how your condition affects your ability to work and carry out daily living activities. When you get approved for benefits for PTSD or any other condition, VA assigns you a disability rating between 0 percent and 100 percent in increments of 10 percent.

This rating shows the level of functional impairment caused by your condition, based on VAs review of your medical records and supporting documents.

For PTSD and most mental disorders, you will receive one of six disability ratings: 0 percent, 10 percent, 30 percent, 50 percent, 70 percent, or 100 percent. The criteria to receive each of these ratings are:

The rating you receive is assigned by the VA when your service connection is established. But PTSD can either improve or deteriorate over time. If it does either, VA may attempt to raise or lower your disability rating to match your current condition.

Suppose you return from combat with PTSD so bad that you can barely leave the house or feed yourself, much less work. You apply for disability and submit ample supporting evidence detailing the extent of your condition. VA assigns you a 100 percent rating based on your inability to work or carry out daily living activities.

But then you undergo intensive therapy. One year later, you still have PTSD, but it is now moderate, and you can hold down a job. If the VA decides to re-examine you, it may lower your rating from 100 percent to 50 percent.

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Va Ptsd Rating Criteria From 0% To 100%

0% VA disability rating for PTSD

A mental condition has been formally diagnosed,but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational andsocial functioning or to require continuous medication.

10% VA disability rating for PTSD

Occupational and social impairment due to mildor transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to performoccupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptomscontrolled by continuous medication.

30% VA disability rating for PTSD

Occupational and social impairment withoccasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability toperform occupational tasks , due to such symptoms as:depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks ,chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss .

50% VA disability rating for PTSD

Occupational and social impairment with reducedreliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech panic attacks more thanonce a week difficulty in understanding complex commands impairment of short-and long-term memory impaired judgment impaired abstract thinking disturbances of motivation and mood difficulty in establishing and maintainingeffective work and social relationships.

70% VA disability rating for PTSD

100% VA disability rating for PTSD

Need Help With Your Ptsd Va Disability Claim Or Appeal

VA is a large, bureaucratic administration not known for efficiency or transparency, and the decisions it makes are not always correct. Many veterans with legitimate service-related medical conditions are denied the first time they apply for benefits.

If you receive a denial, the appeals process can be lengthy and difficult. The accredited VA disability attorneys at Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD can assist you with the appeals process. With over 30 years of experience representing veterans, we have the knowledge and expertise to deal with the VA and its complexities.

The consultation is always free, so call our office today at 800-544-9144 to see if we can assist you.

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Automatic 50 Ptsd Rating

Many veterans have heard that VA Disability rules allow for an automatic 50 percent disability rating for PTSD. However, there are actually no ratings for PTSD that are considered automatic, because any veteran diagnosed with PTSD must meet specific rating criteria that is based on their level of social and occupational impairment as a result of their condition.

What Qualifies For A 100 Percent Rating

3 Charts

A 100 percent rating is the highest the VA will award for PTSD or any other condition. In order to qualify for a 100 percent rating, a veteran with PTSD must have total occupational and social impairment. They must be completely unable to hold down a job or maintain normal, healthy relationships.

A veteran with a 100 percent rating will be in constant danger of hurting themselves or others. They will only be able to perform basic daily tasks like bathing on occasion. They may also have severe memory loss, including forgetting close relatives or even their own name.

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Ptsd And Mst C& p Exams

When a veteran files a claim for PTSD from MST, VA will sometimes order a Compensation and Pension exam. This exam is conducted to evaluate the veterans PTSD and to assess the severity and connection to service, so that VA may issue a rating if service connection is granted. The exam will either be conducted by a VA medical professional or a third-party medical professional contracted by VA.

For some veterans, attending these exams may feel intimidating, especially because discussing PTSD relating to military sexual trauma can be very difficult for survivors. However, the exam is a crucial step on the path to establishing service connection. Without a C& P exam, a veterans case will often be weaker.

At the exam, the examiner will go over the details in the veterans file, which they should be familiar with by the time of the exam. They may ask details about the assault and associated symptoms. They may also ask about how the veterans PTSD affects their day-to-day life.

After reviewing the veterans file and conducting the exam, the examiner will write a medical opinion. The medical opinion is essentially a judgement regarding whether the veterans PTSD is related to MST and their service. The medical opinion an examiner gives can carry a lot of weight for VA raters who will decide whether service connection is granted and what rating will be issued.

Appeal The Decision Or File A New Claim

The most straightforward approach is to appeal VAs decision on the original claim. You have up to one year after the first rating has been assigned to do so. If its been past one year, you can simply file a new claim. In either case, its strongly recommended that you present more evidence to bolster your claim and improve your chances of a more favorable decision.

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How The Va Appeals Process For Ptsd Works

The denial or award letter you received comes with a statement from the VA on how they reached their decision, so make sure you hang on to it. You can use this information to determine what new evidence you should submit with your appeal. Once you get a rating decision from the VA, you have a year to appeal. The general plan for appealing a claim is as follows.

  • Have a VA-accredited claims agent or attorney review your claims file.
  • Request any pertinent records that are missing from your claims file.
  • If necessary, get buddy statements from friends and family, and additional statements from doctors.
  • File the appeal with the new evidence and send a brief to your VA Regional Office or the Board of Veterans Appeals.

Not every appeal follows this pattern to a T, so its best to consult with an experienced claims agent to get a better sense of how things will go.

Now lets take a closer look at types of evidence that can help you show that your PTSD rating is in need of revision.

What You Must Have Before You Are Entitled To A Va Disability Rating For Ptsd

30% PTSD VA Disability Rating Breakdown

It may seem obvious, but you must have a current diagnosis of PTSD if you are to be rated by VA. Some veterans think they have PTSD but dont formally meet the diagnostic criteria for this mental condition. Sometimes, it may not actually be PTSD.

Depression, anxiety, and certain obsessive compulsive disorders can present symptoms similar to PTSD. It is important that you are evaluated by a qualified psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health professional qualified to diagnose your particular condition.

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Focal Point #: Ptsd The C

If every Veteran with a PTSD claim picks up a copy of their C-File, and finds out which of the 4 Pillars of their VA claim was lacking 5-Star Evidence, they could drastically accelerate the time it takes to get to the VA PTSD rating phase of their claim.

The 2 most important stars? Competent Evidence and Credible Evidence. While important in EVERY claim, we need to approach competency and credibility of PTSD evidence a bit differently to have a better experience at the VA.

Knowing how much evidence the VA Claims Evidence Thermometer needs in a PTSD claim is also vital. Some elements of a claim only need enough evidence to get you to the at least as likely as not level. But other elements like insulating your claim from a VA rebuttal of a legal presumption will require more evidence.

Knowing the 4 Piillars of the PTSD claim, and how much evidence is needed to solidly build each of the 4 pillar is the number one thing that Veterans should know.

I Dont Want To Risk Being Rated For Ptsd Because Of Work Restrictions What Should I Do

Having PTSD does not automatically result in workplace restrictions. As per SF 86, mental health treatment and counseling in and of itself is not a reason to revoke or deny eligibility for access to classified information. This also includes holding a sensitive position. In fact, seeking or receiving mental health care for personal wellness and recovery may contribute favorably to decisions about your eligibility for employment.

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How Common Is Ptsd In Veterans

It is estimated that U.S. military veterans are nearly four times as likely to develop PTSD as someone who didnt wear the uniform.

According to the VAs published statistics, the number of veterans with PTSD varies by service era:

  • Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom : About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans who served in OIF or OEF have PTSD each year.
  • Gulf War : About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans have PTSD each year.
  • Vietnam War: About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam Veterans were currently diagnosed with PTSD at the time of the most recent study in the late 1980s, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study . It is estimated that about 30 out of every 100 of Vietnam Veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime.

Another cause of PTSD in the military can be Military Sexual Trauma .

This is any sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs while you are in the military.

MST can happen to both men and women and can occur during peacetime, training, or war.

Among Veterans who use VA healthcare:

  • 23 out of 100 women reported sexual assault when in the military.
  • 55 out of 100 women and 38 out of 100 men have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.

Note that there are many more male Veterans than there are female Veterans.

So, even though military sexual trauma is more common in women Veterans, over half of all Veterans with military sexual trauma are men.

Do You Have Questions Speak To A Va Disability Lawyer At Our Law Firm Today

Va Disability Rating Chart By Condition

At the Tucker Law Group, we can answer your questions regarding appealing a VA disability claim denial. If you need help to appeal for your disability benefits, we want to help you. A VA appeal lawyer with our firm can work quickly and efficiently to help you through the appeals process so you can secure the benefits you deserve.

Contact our office by calling or fill out our confidential contact form. Our law firm can provide legal counsel in all 50 states, as our attorneys are licensed in Florida and many federal courts around the country. We are here to help, so call us today.

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