Disability Rating – DisableVeteran.org

When applying for service-connected compensation, you must provide a nexus between your military service and your current, diagnosed condition. There are several ways to establish service connection for your condition. In some cases, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumes service connection for veterans who develop specific medical conditions during active duty service.

TYPES OF SERVICE CONNECTION

Service connection can be established in one of the following ways:

Direct service connection
Presumptive service connection
Aggravation
Secondary service connection
1151 service connection

DIRECT SERVICE CONNECTION

Direct service connection involves a connection between a veteran’s military service and a veteran’s current, diagnosed condition.

To establish direct service connection, we can draw upon medical records, military service history, physicians’ statements, and opinions from experts.

PRESUMPTIVE SERVICE CONNECTION

The VA presumes certain conditions to be service-connected if a veteran meets certain criteria.

Presumptive service connection includes exposure to herbicide agents. This presumption applies to veterans who were exposed to herbicides during their time in service, such as those stationed in Vietnam, and have a certain medical condition as a result.

A Veterans service organisation or a veterans disability lawyer can review your service and medical records to determine if you are entitled to presumptive service connection.

AGGRAVATION

You can also establish service connection if your military service aggravated a preexisting condition.

For example, you may have injured your knee prior to service, but certain training exercises worsened the condition. You may be entitled to service connection based on aggravation if you can prove that your military service caused your knee condition to get worse. Additionally, if you have a service-connected back condition that aggravates a non-service-connected neck condition, you may be able to get service connection for your neck based on aggravation.

SECONDARY SERVICE CONNECTION

Secondary service connection can be established when a veteran’s condition is the result of another service-connected condition.

For example, a veteran might develop peripheral neuropathy as a result of their service-connected Type II diabetes. Then, peripheral neuropathy would warrant secondary service connection.

1151 SERVICE CONNECTION

If you received treatment for a medical condition in a VA hospital, and your treatment led you to develop a disabling medical condition, you may be entitled to service connection by filing an “1151 claim”.

For A Complete Guide To VA Disability Claims and to find out more about your potential VA disability case and how to obtain favorable VA Rating Decision! Visit: VA-Claims.org

For Cases & Decisions that Could Save Your VA Service-Connected Claims! Visit: VAClaims.org ~ A Non-Profit Non Governmental Agency

HOW DOES VA RATE PTSD?

Once you are service-connected for PTSD, VA will assign a disability rating. In doing so, VA will consider the frequency, duration, and severity of your symptoms along with the resulting level of social and occupational impairment. In other words, your disability rating reflects how you are affected in both your personal life and your work life. Generally, the more severe your symptoms are, the higher your disability rating will be. To determine your disability rating for PTSD, VA uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. This rating scale ranges from 0 percent to 100 percent with in-between ratings of 10, 30, 50, and 70 percent.

HOW DO I RECEIVE A 30% RATING?

Each rating under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders has specific criteria that a veteran must meet in order to receive that evaluation. Here, the criteria are based on a number of symptoms as well as the varying severity of those symptoms. The criterion for a 30% PTSD rating under 38 C.F.R. 4.130, Diagnostic Code 9411, is as follows:

30% – “Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as: depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events)”.

WHAT DOES THE 30% RATING CRITERIA MEAN?

The criteria for a 30% PTSD rating outlined above are meant to represent mild PTSD symptomology. In this case, “occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks” might mean that you are starting to periodically miss work due to your lack of motivation associated with PTSD. However, your PTSD does not fully prevent you from performing and succeeding in a work environment. Furthermore, you may experience symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, and panic attacks. This may cause you to occasionally isolate yourself. Nonetheless, you are still able to maintain your relationships with others. Overall, a 30% PTSD rating is assigned when a veteran demonstrates these symptoms presented in a mild manner, intermittently over time. However, it is important to note that a veteran does not need to endorse all of these symptoms to qualify for this rating. Even if a veteran only has a few of the specific PTSD symptoms listed, he or she can still receive a 30% rating.