How VA Disability Ratings Are Determined

Determining what VA disability benefits a veteran with a service-connected medical condition can receive depends on the disability rating assigned to that condition. The VA uses specific evaluation criteria to calculate a VA disability rating for a veteran’s condition. 

What Are VA Disability Ratings?

VA disability ratings determine what kinds of benefits a veteran may receive from the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA disability benefits can include monthly payments. A veteran’s disability rating will determine the amount of those payments. Disability ratings may also allow veterans to access other benefits from the VA, such as financial assistance programs or healthcare. 

The VA’s Process for Determining Disability Ratings

The VA issues disability ratings based on the severity of a veteran’s service-connected medical condition. VA disability ratings represent the severity of a condition as the percentage of the veteran’s health and functional ability lost due to the condition. A veteran can obtain a VA disability rating for their qualifying conditions by filing a VA disability benefits claim. An application for benefits will require the veteran to submit supporting documentation, including medical records, service records, and statements from the veteran’s treating providers, fellow servicemembers, family members, friends, or co-workers. The VA may ask an applying veteran to attend a compensation & pension exam, where a VA doctor will examine the veteran to assess the severity of their condition. VA claims reviewers will examine the full record to assess how the veteran’s condition affects their ability to work and daily activities. 

The VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities

The VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) guides VA claims reviewers in assessing the severity of a veteran’s condition to assign a disability rating. VASRD requires disability ratings to represent the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from an illness or injury and their residual effects.

Understanding Combined Disability Ratings

Veterans may have two or more service-connected medical conditions. As a result, the VA must determine a “combined” disability rating that reflects all of a veteran’s disabilities. However, the VA does not determine combined disability ratings by adding the disability rating of each condition, since a veteran cannot have a total disability rating of more than 100 percent. Instead, the VA uses a formula, represented by a chart or matrix, that calculates the combined disability rating for two separate ratings. When a veteran has two conditions, the VA will use the chart to find the combined disability rating for the ratings for each of the veteran’s conditions. For example, suppose a veteran has one condition with a 40 percent disability rating and another condition with a 20 percent rating; the VA’s formula provides a combined disability rating of 52, which the VA rounds to the nearest number divisible by 10 – in this case, 50, which represents the veteran’s final disability rating. However, if the veteran had additional disabilities, the VA would take the combined disability rating of 52 and combine it with the rating for the veteran’s next most severe disability, repeating the process for all the veteran’s conditions. 

Appealing a VA Disability Rating Decision

When the VA assigns a disability rating as part of a veteran’s disability benefits claims, a veteran may disagree with the assigned rating, believing that the VA may have misclassified the severity of their condition. The VA maintains an administrative appeals process that offers veterans three levels of review of disability rating decisions: 

• Supplemental claim (the veteran can submit additional information/documentation)
• Higher-level review (a senior claims reviewer reviews the claim, but the veteran may not submit additional information)
• Review by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Contact a VA Disability Benefits Attorney

When you develop a disability due to a service-connected medical condition, you may qualify for VA benefits. The amount of your benefits will depend on your VA disability rating. Contact Veterans Benefits Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation with our team of VA disability benefits lawyers to learn more about the process for determining your VA disability rating and your benefits.