If you’re a veteran receiving VA disability compensation for PTSD, you may be seeking a higher rating for your condition. Whether your initial rating was lower than you deserve, or your symptoms have gotten worse and need to be reevaluated, it’s important to understand how to increase your VA disability rating for PTSD.
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The VA granted you a PTSD VA rating, but now your symptoms are worse, and it’s getting harder to maintain a job. What was once a manageable condition is now negatively affecting your relationships, your memory, and even your ability to care for yourself. If you’re receiving inadequate compensation for your service-connected PTSD, you can file a claim to increase your VA rating.
In this article about how to increase VA disability rating for PTSD:
How to increase your VA disability rating for PTSD
The VA uses the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders to rate PTSD. You may receive a rating of 0%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100% depending on the severity and frequency of your symptoms.
Symptoms of PTSD can vary widely, but intrusive memories are among the most common. These are unpleasant memories of the event that you can’t control and that often take the form of flashbacks or nightmares.
If you experience these or other symptoms of PTSD and you’ve been granted a rating you believe is too low, there are steps you can take to appeal the decision. First, it’s important to understand the rating criteria and what you’ll need to show the VA to increase your PTSD rating.
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How to increase PTSD rating from 30% to 50%
The VA will assign a 30% rating if you can usually work efficiently, but have intermittent periods where you struggle. Symptoms for a 30% rating can include depression, anxiety, or panic attacks once a week or less, sleep problems, and mild memory loss.
Veterans with a 50% PTSD rating, on the other hand, may demonstrate difficulties communicating, with problems like flattened speech or speech impairments. They experience panic attacks more than once a week, have serious memory problems, trouble maintaining relationships, and have a hard time following complex instructions.
If you believe your 30% rating is too low, you may need to provide a more accurate estimate of how often your panic attacks occur or how significant your memory loss is. You might also need lay statements from your loved ones and coworkers discussing changes in your interactions. Your boss may also submit a statement explaining how difficult it is for you to complete tasks at work. This evidence can help increase your PTSD rating from 30% to 50%.
How to increase PTSD rating from 50% to 70%
Veterans with a 70% PTSD rating find it almost impossible to lead a normal life. They may follow obsessive rituals, have impulse control issues, start to neglect their personal hygiene, or have suicidal thoughts.
If you feel a 50% rating is too low, your appeal may focus on any suicidal thoughts you experience. You may not have done enough to show how constant your anxiety and panic are, and you might need to focus more on any rituals you feel compelled to follow. Your family can also submit lay statements detailing the impact your condition has on your relationships with them.
How to increase PTSD rating from 70% to 100%
To qualify for a 100% rating, a veteran with PTSD must experience total occupational and social impairment. This means they are completely unable to hold down a job or maintain healthy relationships.
A veteran with a 100% PTSD rating is considered to be frequently in danger of hurting themselves or others. They often struggle to perform basic daily tasks like bathing, and they may experience severe memory loss, such as forgetting the names of loved ones.
It can be difficult to increase a PTSD rating from 70% to 100%. If you feel your 70% rating or the 70% rating of a loved one is too low, you need to work to show that you or the veteran is completely incapable of caring for themselves. Documentation of institutionalization, if applicable, may help increase this rating.
TDIU for PTSD
Even if you’re unable to increase your PTSD rating to 100%, you may qualify for total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). Veterans are eligible for TDIU benefits if they can’t maintain “substantially gainful” employment due to their service-connected condition.
TDIU benefits pay the same as a 100% disability rating, even though the veteran’s combined rating is below 100%.
Veterans will typically be eligible for TDIU if they have:
- One service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling OR
- Two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a combined rating of 70% or more
Filing for your rating increase
Depending on the specific circumstances of your VA claim, when you’re ready to appeal your PTSD decision, there are a few different paths you can take. Having a VA disability attorney or other accredited VA representative who understands the best route for your appeal can help prevent delays and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.
It’s important to note that these options are for appeals filed under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). Legacy appeals are handled differently.
- Higher-level review (HLR): If you believe a mistake was made in your initial PTSD decision and you would like someone with more experience to review your claim, you can request an HLR. With this route, you must appeal within a year of the decision, and the review is based on the same evidence used in the previous decision, which means you cannot submit new evidence. This type of appeal requires that you fill out and submit VA Form 20-0996. You cannot request an HLR of an HLR.
- Appeal through the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA): This option is for veterans who want to appeal their claim within a year of their decision and may or may not have new evidence. Appealing through this route means your case will go to a BVA Veterans Law Judge for review. To do this, you must file a Notice of Disagreement (VA Form 10182). You cannot request an HLR or a BVA review of a BVA decision.
- Supplemental claim: Veterans can submit a supplemental claim if they have new and relevant evidence, such as medical records or buddy statements, that supports their case. This appeal option is the only one that can be used at any point after a rating decision. Use VA Form 20-0995 to file a supplemental claim.
Sometimes, veterans with new and relevant evidence who appeal their claim for a PTSD rating increase are required to complete a C&P exam to reassess the severity of their diagnosis. Check out this article for more information about how to prepare for a C&P exam for PTSD.
“The firm got me to 70%, and I was happy. Individual unemployability was awarded to me and to this day, I’m so grateful. My future is no longer bleak. These people work very hard for you.”
R.C., a Navy veteran in Hawaii
How Woods & Woods can help
Woods & Woods has been fighting for people with injuries and disabilities since 1985. Our team of accredited VA disability lawyers, case managers, legal analysts, and intake specialists knows the ins and outs of the VA so you don’t have to do all the hard work. Call us today for your free and confidential case evaluation.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. If you were granted a PTSD rating you believe is too low, or if your PTSD symptoms have worsened and you would like your rating to be reassessed, there are a few different ways you can appeal the decision for a higher PTSD rating.
If you feel your 70% rating or the 70% rating of a loved one is too low, you need to be able to show that you or the veteran is completely incapable of working and is socially impaired. Documentation of institutionalization, if applicable, may help increase this rating.
Neil Woods
Neil Woods is a VA disability attorney and the owner and president of Woods & Woods. He received his law degree from Western Michigan University.
