How George Sink Pa Can Help Disabled Veterans Maximize Their Benefits
Working with a veterans disability attorney at George Sink, P.A. can help you obtain the benefits you earned after a career of military service. We can assist you with every part of the VA application process and consult with medical experts to support your case for a 100 percent disability rating. We also can represent you during the appeals process. At all times, we will be available to answer your questions and find solutions that can help you live a better life.
Call us or contact us online now to arrange a free case evaluation. Learn more about how weve helped other disabled veterans!
Getting Tdiu For Ptsd Rating
If posttraumatic stress keeps you from being able to obtain or maintain employment, you may be able to get Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, or TDIU.
TDIU pays at the 100% rate when the VA finds that the veteran is not capable of working because of a service-connected condition.
Eligibility for TDIU may be schedular or extraschedular:
- Schedular TDIU: You cannot work, and you meet the 60-percent or combined 70-percent criteria.
- Extraschedular TDIU: You cannot work, and you do not meet the above 60-percent or combined 70-percent criteria.
TDIU is another path to 100% for veterans who do not qualify for the 100 percent schedular rating. However, many veterans are not aware that they may be entitled to these higher-paying benefits.
Rather than assume the VA will hand it to you, you must ask for TDIU benefits and thoroughly support your claim for it. By using VA form 21-8940, Veterans Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, you can file a VA Individual Unemployability claim.
It is important that you fill out and submit this form without it, VA will view a TDIU claim as incomplete and will not decide the claim. This in effect results in VA administratively denying your claim.
We help veterans seek TDIU benefits by showing the VA how posttraumatic stress affects their ability to work, in the following ways:
Va Disability Ratings Approach For Ptsd
The VA can, and does, issue disability ratings for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These disability ratings range from Zero to 100% depending on the nature, severity, and persistence of the symptoms.
Well cover the VA rating criteria below. But servicemembers should know that establishing a case for PTSD ideally should start as early as possible. If you are still serving, being evaluated and diagnosed with PTSD or other mental health issues related to your trauma is a very important step.
One important fact to remember PTSD, anxiety disorders and other mental health issues continue to be directly or indirectly stigmatized in certain parts of our society and it can be challenging to seek help or a diagnosis.
To be treated for your condition and get the compensation you are due, it is necessary to overcome any feelings you may have of being marginalized, of being a lesser person or other negative connotations associated with having a mental health issue.
The fact is, PTSD is far more widespread than many think and American culture has a long way to go in properly understanding these conditions and the people who suffer from them. Dont let stigma or negative perceptions about mental health issues stop you from getting the care and compensation you deserve.
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Frequently Asked Questions: 100% P& t Ptsd Va Benefits
What are 100% Permanent and Total ratings?
100% Permanent and Total ratings are for veterans with disabilities totaling 100% that have conditions that are not expected to improve.
Who is eligible for a 100% Permanent and Total PTSD rating?
Veterans that have severe PTSD that is not expected to improve over the course of their life may be eligible for a 100% Permanent and Total PTSD rating.
What if I was denied a 100% Permanent and Total PTSD rating?
If you were denied a 100% P& T PTSD rating you have one year to appeal from the date on your VA disability Rating Decision letter. If you have waited longer than one year to appeal for a 100% P& T PTSD rating, you can file a new claim.
Will I have to take my claim to the BVA to obtain a 100% P& T PTSD rating?
If you are denied a 100% P& T PTSD rating, your best bet is to appeal and get your claim headed to the Board of Veterans Appeals . Our lawyers like the BVA because we find the panel of judges to understand VA law better than bureaucrats during the application process.
If my appeal for a 100% P& T PTSD rating is approved, will I get back pay?
If you appeal a 100% P& T PTSD rating denial and win, you should receive a check from the VA covering your missing back pay. These are the benefits you would have been receiving had your 100% P& T PTSD rating claim been approved in the first place.
Should I hire a lawyer to receive my 100%P& T PTSD rating?Can I afford a lawyer to get a 100% Permanent and Total PTSD rating?
Can I Get A 100% Va Rating For Ptsd
There is a big difference between a rating of 50 or 70 percent and a rating of 100 percent. The main difference is that a 100 percent rating provides much greater benefits.
Severe PTSD can cause significant difficulty in your work and personal life. Many veterans feel that they are totally disabled by it. But, VA only grants them a 50 or 70 percent rating for thier PTSD.
In this article, I will discuss whether it is possible to get a 100 percent rating for PTSD and whether there is more than one way to get that rating.
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Increased Disability Payments For Veterans With Dependents
Veterans entitled to compensation who have a disability rated at 30% or more are entitled to additional compensation for dependents. Dependent children between the ages of 18 and 23 must be attending school and a dependent for tax purposes.
Parents may be considered dependents if the veteran provides more than 50% of their support. Veterans with a disabled spouse may also be eligible for increased benefits. Check with the VA for details.
There is also a Dependency & Indemnity Compensation benefit for survivors of some disabled veterans.
Types Of 100 Percent Va Disability Ratings
Total disability ratings, or 100 percent disability ratings, from the Department of Veterans Affairs are often confusing to veterans, particularly because they are unsure if they can work after receiving this rating.
The Savannah veterans disability attorneys of The Nye Law Group have put together a helpful guide to 100 percent VA disability ratings. The guide explains the different types of total disability ratings and when you can work if you have received one of these ratings.
If you are struggling to obtain the benefits you are entitled, our experienced VA disability lawyers may be able to help you. Contact us today for a free, no obligation legal consultation.
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Why Could A 70% Ptsd Rating Qualify Me For Tdiu
I mentioned the 70 percent rating criteria for PTSD in above. Walking through those criteria should help to clarify why a 70% PTSD rating will often qualify a veteran for a 100% TDIU rating.
If you are rated at the 70% level, many of the factors that go into that rating focus on your performance within the workplace and your inability to perform satisfactorily at your place of employment.
With deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgement, thinking, or mood
This is the general statement that VA makes at the beginning of the 70% PTSD level. Again, VA focuses on impairment in work and relationships.
They also mention judgment, thinking and mood. All three of these factors affect your ability to get or maintain a job. You need good judgment and thinking ability to work. Even if your PTSD does not affect your judgment or your thinking, the effect that it has on your mood often makes it difficult to work with others.
VA then lists out a number of different symptoms associated with PTSD that could qualify you at the 70% level. I will discuss a few of these symptoms below:
Obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities
If your PTSD causes you to take longer to do routine activities, this could certainly affect your ability to maintain employment. Many employers require routine tasks to be done on a certain schedule.
Near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively
You May Be Entitled To Va 100% Ptsd Due To Mst
The type, severity, and duration of a veterans symptoms will vary based on a number of factors. For example, race, religion, and sexual orientation can affect the impact of MST. Whether the MST happened once or was repeated over time may affect how long the symptoms last. If your PTSD due to MST has caused any of the symptoms in the 100% range, then you may be entitled to VA 100%.
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Next Up On 1: Why Are Some Veterans More Impacted By Ptsd Than Othersyour Browser Indicates If You’ve Visited This Link
On this episode of 13, Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences Rebecca Shiner and two of her former students Peter Tappenden ’18 and Fanyi Mo ’20 talk about their research that was recently published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, titled, “Narrating life in the military: Links between veterans’ narrative processing of service experiences and their posttraumatic stress symptoms and well-being.” A trained clinical psychologist, Shiner’s research lies at the intersection of personality, clinical, and developmental psychology. Shiner…
Colgate University
How Does Va Calculate Combined Ratings
The VA starts with the veterans highest rating, and then works down the list of disabilities, combining them from highest to lowest. Using the example above, if the veteran who is service connected for PTSD at 30% is later service connected for headaches at 30% and hearing loss at 10%, their overall rating would not be 70%. Instead, VA would combine the 30% for headaches with the 30% for PTSD, coming out to 51%. It would then combine the 10% for hearing loss with the 51%, which would come out to 56%. The VA would then round the 56% to the nearest 10, which would be 60%. The veterans overall combined rating would be 60% and he would receive monthly compensation at that 60% rate.
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How Do Ssdi Benefits Differ From Veterans Benefits
VA disability benefits and SSDI are both initiatives run by the U.S. government. However, they are vastly different from one another. Here are some key differences between SSDI benefits and veterans benefits:
- Approval for VA benefits requires your disability to be related to your military service. SSDI does not require a link to active military service.
- Unlike VA benefits, Social Security doesnt provide partial disability benefits. You must be fully disabled to receive SSDI.
- The VA may increase your benefits if your medical condition worsens. However, your SSDI benefits wont increase if your condition deteriorates.
If you are unable to hold steady employment to a service-connected disability, you may also be eligible for TDIU even without a 100% rating. Veterans with one disability rated 60% or more, or multiple disabilities with one at least 40% and the total at least 70%, could be eligible for this benefit.
Va Disability Rating For Ptsd
Military members who experience trauma may develop symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is eligible for VA compensation for service-connected or service-aggravated conditions.
But for some, the process of establishing a VA rating for PTSD is a mystery. Understanding how the VA views and rates this condition goes a long way toward helping those who suffer from PTSD file their claims and document their condition properly for the purpose of getting a VA disability rating for the condition where applicable.
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Ssa Expedited Processing For Veterans
How To File A Va Claim For Ptsd
If youre wondering how to get 100 VA disability from the VA for PTSD or you think you deserve a higher VA rating for PTSD, you should read How to File a Claim for PTSD.
? Join VA Claims Insider Elite, get instant access to the ELITE Experience Portal and $7,500 worth of proprietary VA claim resources TODAY, and have our medical team get started on your VA disability claim for FREE:
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Watch: How To Get A 100% Va Rating
In this free 45-minute video training youll learn 3 Secret VA Disability Claim Tips that could get you a 100% VA Disabiltiy Rating in less time, even if youve already filed or been denied.
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Va Ptsd Disability Benefits Eligibility
Although PTSD is not considered a presumptive condition, meaning its not assumed to be caused directly by military service, it is still regarded as one of the easier disabilities to earn a VA claim for. Each of these criteria must be met for an individual to qualify for PTSD VA disability benefits:
- A medical professional who is qualified to make a PTSD diagnosis must diagnose the veteran with PTSD
- The PTSD stressor or traumatic event associated with the development or worsening of the condition must have occurred during the veterans military service
- The veteran must be able to prove the stressor is linked to the current diagnosis with a medical nexus or the results of a C& P exam
- The veterans PTSD symptoms must make it more difficult to function than it was before the traumatic event
If an individual does qualify, the above rating system mixed with written statements from people in the veterans life and the results of a VA-administered C& P exam will help the VA determine a final rating for disability benefits.
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About Va Claims Insider
VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. Were here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. We also connect veterans with independent medical professionals in our referral network for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible independent medical opinions and nexus statements for a wide range of disability conditions.
Present A Current Diagnosis Of Ptsd
The first step to receiving VA benefits for PTSD disability requires the veteran to have a current diagnosis. A psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed social worker, or other mental health care practitioner must diagnosis the veteran with PTSD. Additionally, the diagnosis must conform to specific criteria.
Its important that the diagnosing doctor provides a report that fully describes why they feel that the veteran has PTSD and how the veterans symptoms meet the specific criteria. All of this medical evidence must show that it is as likely as not that the veteran currently has disabling PTSD.
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How Disability Ratings Are Calculated
Under schedular criteria, the VA determines what percentage of a veterans body is impaired by their service-connected disability. Ratings are awarded from 0% to 100% in 10% increments. A 0% rating means that a veterans condition is service-connected but causes no measurable impairment, while a 100% rating means the condition causes severe impairment leading to an inability to work or live independently.
When a veteran has multiple disabilities, the ratings for each individual impairment arent simply added together. Since a veteran cant be more than 100% disabled, the VA subtracts the secondary condition from the disability causing the most impairment. This VA math makes it hard to receive a 100% rating despite experiencing serious difficulty performing everyday activities.
% Permanent And Total Ptsd Rating Appeals And Denials
If you are denied only a 100% rating: If you were denied a 100% PTSD rating, our VA benefits appeals lawyers may be able to help. The law allows lawyers to help veterans appeal denials and appeal for ratings increases. Woods & Woods has worked for thousands of veterans with PTSD.
If you are denied only a Permanent and Total rating: If you received a 100% rating but were denied for only your Permanent and Total rating, I regret to inform you our VA lawyers cannot help. Unfortunately, there is no way for our firm to represent veterans for only being denied their Permanent and Total rating. You can appeal the VAs decision on your own fairly simply if you are only going after the P& T rating.
If you were denied both a P& T rating and a 100% PTSD rating: If you were denied both your P& T rating and your 100% PTSD rating, then our veterans benefits lawyers may be able to help. Once again, the law allows VA disability lawyers to help veterans appeal denials and appeal for rating increases.
Learn More: Calculate your rating with our VA Disability Benefits Rating Calculator
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