va disability rating – Veterans Disability

When a veteran applies for disability compensation benefits, the VA has to decide if the veteran is eligible and entitled to those benefits and how much they can receive. The VA’s initial decision is called a Rating Decision, where the veteran is assigned a percentage for their service-connected disability that determines how much monthly compensation they will receive.

In order to determine how much compensation the veteran is entitled to, the veteran is assigned a rating. The rating is a percentage, ranging from 0% to 100% and increasing in increments of 10%. The VA rates mental and physical conditions based on the average decrease in earning capacity due to that condition. The VA rating system is meant to be a way to compensate veterans for a loss they suffered in service that decreases their ability to earn a living for themselves and their families. The higher the degree of disability, the greater the compensation because the more severe the condition, the greater the impact it has on the veteran’s ability to earn a living.

The goal for most veterans is a 100% disability rating, also known as total disability rating. This rating entitles the veteran to the most amount of money (currently $2,906.83 per month) because they are considered totally disabled. If the disability would make the average person incapable of work, a total rating is assigned, even if the veteran is working. The other way to get total disability rating, without reaching 100%, is through individual unemployability.

On the other side of the spectrum, the VA can assign a 0% rating, or a noncompensable rating. 0% does not qualify the veteran for monthly compensation, but it does have its advantages. A noncompensable rating establishes service-connection, preserves the right to seek higher compensation if the condition gets worse, and entitles the veteran to other benefits such as preference in federal/state jobs. If the veteran has two or more separate noncompensable service-connected disabilities, the VA can grant a 10% disability rating.

The rating schedule, which can be found here, lists all types of diseases and conditions that tend to result from military service. The ratings are categorized by body system, with each system containing a series of diagnoses and each having its own numerical code. This numerical code is called a diagnostic code, which is then assigned a percentage, and each percentage has a designated compensation amount. For each degree of disability, there is a description of the symptoms the veteran must have in order to qualify for that evaluation. The degree of disability increases with the severity of the symptoms. The rating board will determine the severity of the symptoms and the appropriate rating for the veteran based on the evidence provided, such as service records, medical statements, buddy statements, and VA examinations. This is why it is so important to get the right evidence into the VA so they can make the right decision and assign the highest rating possible. The goal is to prove the highest level of severity in order to get the highest rating and receive the most compensation.

The VA is supposed to choose the diagnostic code with the highest evaluation under which the veteran qualifies, and avoid evaluating the same disability under different diagnostic codes. When there are two different evaluations to apply, the VA will assign the higher rating of the two if the disability meets the criteria for the higher rating (if not, the lower rating will be applied). Not all disabilities are listed in the rating schedule, so when the condition is not included, it will be rated under a closely related disease or injury. This is known as an analogous rating. The analogous condition should affect similar functions in the same part of the body and have similar symptoms.

When there are two separate disabilities, the overall percentage is determined by combining the individual ratings, not adding them together. The VA does this by considering each disability in order of severity, beginning with the highest evaluation, and subtracting that from 100%. The number that remains is what the VA considers the remaining healthy part of the veteran, so the next disability is subtracted from that remaining number. The result is then rounded to the nearest tenth. For example, if there are two disabilities rated at 50%, the first 50% is subtracted from 100%. The second disability of 50% is taken from the remaining 50%, resulting in 75%, which is then rounded to 80%. For a more detailed explanation with examples, click here and here. There is also an app that can help you calculate combined ratings called VetCalc that can be downloaded in the App Store.

If you do not agree with what the VA has decided and you think you are entitled to a higher rating, you can appeal your decision. Find out how to do so by clicking here.

Author Melanie Franco, Hill & Ponton, P.A. Attorney

In 2012, 29.1 million Americans had been diagnosed with diabetes. That number undoubtedly has gone up, because at that time there were 86 million Americans age 20 and older who were pre-diabetic. Veteran’s receiving service connected compensation for diabetes mellitus are also eligible to receive compensation for any and all conditions secondary to diabetes. The complications and co-morbid conditions associated with diabetes are grouped into two categories: macrovascular and microvascular.

Macrovascular disease is a disease of any large blood vessel in the body, including, the coronary arteries, the aorta, and the large arteries in the brain and in the limbs. Diseases include, but are not limited to, coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular accident or stroke (CVA), congestive heart failure (CHF), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), hypertension, and myocardial infarction (MI).

Microvascular is the system of tiny blood vessels, including the capillaries, venules, and arterioles that perfuse the body’s tissues. Microvascular diseases include, but are not limited to, retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, gastroparesis, Alzheimer’s disease, skin conditions, and erectile dysfunction.

Diabetic retinopathy may be the most common microvascular complication of diabetes. According to the Mayo Clinic diabetic retinopathy affects the eyes. It is caused by damage to the retinal blood vessels of the “light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye” or retina. In patients with type 2 diabetes, retinopathy may begin to develop as early as 7 years before the diagnosis of diabetes. However, anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop this condition. At early onset, diabetic retinopathy manifests by mild vision problems. Eventually, it can cause blindness.

Another microvascular complication caused by nerve damage is diabetic neuropathy. This is another condition that develops slowly and may begin years before a person is finally diagnosed with diabetes. About half the people with diabetes develop diabetic neuropathy. High glucose levels causes chemical changes in nerves, if glucose levels remain high over a long period of time, there is permanent damage to the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves, causing neuropathy. Most often, the damage of diabetic neuropathy involves the hands, legs and feet. Initial symptoms include tingling or burning sensation, or a deep aching pain. Because of this, a person may not notice when they stop on something sharp, or not know that they have a blister or small cut, or have touched something that is too cold or too hot. This, coupled with a macrovascular complication of peripheral arterial disease, a condition that restricts the flow of blood to the extremities, can cause person with diabetic neuropathy to develop ulcers in the feet or hands that do not heal easily. Diabetic ulcers can become infected and develop into gangrenous ulcers that lead to amputation.

VA evaluates diabetic peripheral neuropathy based on the nerve(s) involved. For example, nerve damage can involve the peroneal nerve, sciatic nerve, or femoral nerve. The common peroneal nerve is derived from the lumbar and sacral spine regions as a part of the sciatic nerve. It then branches off down the extremities into the foot. If the common peroneal nerve is damaged and the veteran has:

foot drop and,
slight droop of first phalanges (See diagram) of all toes, and,
not able to raise the foot from the ankle, and,
lost some movement of the toes, and,
decreased feeling over the top of the foot and toes

Then, the veteran may be entitled to the maximum rating of 40% for that category for each extremity that is affected. If the damage is not as complete for a 40% rating, the veteran has to show that there is incomplete paralysis at three levels of severity: severe, moderate or mild. These terms have not been defined by the VA. As such, the veteran needs to inform their treating physician of all symptoms associated with the neuropathy so that the physician can render an accurate determination of the severity of the condition. As my colleague pointed out in her blog regarding peripheral neuropathy, the most import thing is for the veteran to be properly diagnosed for any condition associated with diabetes mellitus in order to receive the compensation they deserve.

Author Brenda Duplantis, Hill & Ponton, P.A. Disability Advocate

Tag: va disability rating

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