We Believe a 70% Psychological Rating Should Result in VA Individual Unemployability

By Douglas I. Friedman of Friedman Law Firm, P.C.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

If you have a 70% rating for a psychological condition, the VA has found that you have “occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgement, thinking or mood.” Individual Unemployability, also known as IU, in general means that you can’t hold down a job because of your service-connected conditions. If you can prove entitlement to Individual Unemployability, you will be compensated at the 100% rate, even though your rating is less than 100%.

The reason that a 70% psychological rating should support a finding of Individual Unemployability is the limitations caused by symptoms included in the rating itself. Some examples are: inability to establish and maintain effective relationships; difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances including work or a worklike setting; neglect of personal appearance; and near continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively. The rating is too long to set out in full, but here is a link to the VA website that shows all of the psychological ratings: http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/bookc.asp#r .

In a case like this, we usually offer medical evidence and the client’s statement to prove that the client’s symptoms keep them from working. After all, how can someone work with symptoms like these?

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-728-0434. We have represented many veterans in IU claims.

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