VETERANS DISABILITY BENEFITS

If you have a service-related injury, illness, or condition, or a preexisting condition worsened by service, you may qualify for disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Injuries can and often do happen during military service. Some injuries or illnesses are minor with no lasting effects, while others have consequences impacting you and your family for the rest of your life. Many times injuries are not documented during your military service. Do not let the VA use this as an excuse to deny you.

If you are not able to work at your current job or unable to sustain employment, you may be eligible for a Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). TDIU enables veterans to be compensated at a rating of 100 percent, even if their total service-connected rating does not add up to 100 percent. To be eligible, you must meet certain requirements including:

• The veteran has one service-connected disability rated at 60 percent or more.
• The veteran has two or more disabilities with one disability rated at 40 percent or more, with a combined rating of 70 percent or more.

Over time, your service-related disabilities can interfere with your job. If you are not able to work at your current job or unable to sustain employment, you may be eligible for a Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU).

TDIU enables veterans to be compensated at a rating of 100 percent, even if their total service-connected rating does not add up to 100 percent. To be eligible, you must meet certain requirements including:

1. The veteran has one service-connected disability rated at 60 percent or more
2. The veteran has two or more disabilities with one disability rated at 40 percent or more, with a combined rating of 70 percent or more

Each year, millions of individuals file for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and other types of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. Unfortunately, statistics reveal that only 30 percent of these claims are accepted. There are many reasons why the Social Security Administration (SSA) denies an individual’s claims, but some of the most common reasons for these denials include the following elements:

• an applicant’s medical condition won’t last long enough or is not severe enough
• a disability is primarily due to alcohol or drug abuse, an applicant lacks medical evidence
• the social security administration is unable to contact the individual, the disability applicant has been incarcerated
• an individual refuses to cooperate with the social security administration
• an individual has committed fraud against the social security administration
• an applicant’s benefits exceeds the substantial gainful activity threshold
  

Learn more about each of these types of denial.

Compensation for your veteran disability claims is typically dependent on the rating system. You will first need to obtain your disability rating. This rating, along with other factors, will determine your monthly disability compensation and other healthcare benefits.

Based on the severity of the service-connected condition, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) assigns a rating from 0 percent to 100 percent, typically in 10 percent increments.

If you have more than one disability, the VA uses a combined disability rating system that does not follow "normal" math. Instead of adding your disability ratings together, VA math factors a single rating into the percent you are considered “able.”

You have the following service-connected disability ratings:

•  30 percent rating for a neck injury

•  20 percent rating for a right knee injury

Based on these ratings, you would assume your combined rating would be 30 + 20 = 50 percent

However, the combined rating math does not simply add all of the ratings together to calculate your total disability. Instead, the VA racks and stacks the disabilities in descending order. In this example, disabilities are ranked 30 percent and 20 percent. The combined disability math is:

30 percent rating: 

100 (the initial baseline for all Veterans) x 0.3 = 30

• 100 - 30 = 70

• 70 is your new baseline

20 percent rating:

• 70 x 0.2 = 14

• 70 - 14 = 56

Final combined disability rating:

•  100 - 56 = 44

•  Disability rating is 40 percent

VA Disability Calculator

If your Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claim has been denied, you may feel like that is the end. Do not let the VA have the final say. You have a right to appeal the VA’s decision. Let us take a look to see if we are able to help. At Rocky Mountain Disability Law Group, we only get paid when you win.

With high denial rates and wordy decision letters, many veterans end up frustrated and disheartened after pursuing the benefits they earned. You may want to seek the help of an attorney to make sure you get your benefits.

Our legal team at Rocky Mountain Disability Law Group is uniquely qualified to assist you in obtaining the benefits you deserve.

Our firm founder, Joseph Whitcomb, is a former Army Ranger who served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Our senior attorney for veterans affairs, Ken Enright, is a former artilleryman who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our veterans' disability benefits case managers are veterans. We understand the complexities of the appeals process because we have been through it ourselves.