Veterans Disability Benefits & Combined Ratings

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides financial compensation benefits to veterans who have service-connected disabilities that prevent them from working and earning wages. In cases where veterans have multiple disabilities, the VA will take into consideration their combined disability ratings in order to determine the compensation they will receive.

The VA will determine if a veteran has multiple disabilities by closely reviewing their disability claim. Ensuring that all paperwork is correctly filled out and that all necessary documentation and medical evidence is provided in the claim is crucial to having a claim accepted. If the VA finds that a veteran does have multiple disabilities, it will use a Combined Ratings Table to determine their combined disability rating.

The VA does not use simple math to determine combined disability ratings. This means that if one disability is rated 30% and another disability 40%, the combined rating is not 70%. Instead, the VA will use a step-by-step approach and the combined ratings table to determine a disability rating. More than two disabilities can be combined.

The VA will use the following process:

• Disabilities are arranged by severity, beginning with the greatest disability.
• The Combined Ratings Table is then used to combine disability ratings, with one disability read in the left column, and the other in the top row.
• The number where the two ratings combine will be the combined value.
• The combined value is rounded to the nearest 10%.
• For more than two disabilities, the combined value (without rounding) is combined with the third disability.

As an example, a Veteran with a 40% disability and 20% disability will have a combined rating of 52. When rounded, their final combined disability rating would be 50%. At George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, our South Carolina veterans disability attorneys understand that the process of filing a VA claim and determining a disability rating can be complex, which is why we are available to help veterans through each phase of the claim process.

If you or someone you love is looking to apply for benefits with multiple disabilities, our firm is here to help! We’re a veteran-owned law firm passionate about helping veterans so that they can receive the benefits they deserve. Call us today for a FREE case review.