PTSD VA Rating
Friedman Law Firm: VA PTSD Claims
VA Rating for PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Conditions
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can strike years after exposure to the triggering event. We had a client, for example, who had worked successfully for thirty years and then one day he was walking along a street and a car back-fired. Suddenly, he was having flashbacks and nightmares, which eventually led to a long-term admission to a treatment program and having to go on disability.
Many people work while suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In fact, they often feel better while working, due to the daily framework and socialization that work affords. But, if work ends, the PTSD symptoms are likely to get worse.
PTSD in the Workplace
Working with PTSD may make usual workplace interactions difficult. Often a veteran is uncomfortable with people walking behind him or her, and has to be situated so that the veteran can see anyone coming into a room. Noise can also be a problem, not to mention getting along with co-workers. Working with PTSD causes significant changes in the worker's needs and abilities. The VA rates PTSD claims based on how significantly the social and occupational impairment affects the veteran's ability to work. The amount of disability compensation awarded monthly is dependent on the VA's rating system.
Veterans PTSD symptoms include:
- Nervousness, irritability
- Trouble sleeping
- Sense of impending doom
- Fatigue, frequent tiredness
- Trouble concentrating, minor memory loss
- Pain or tightness in the back, neck, and shoulders
- Rapid heartbeat and breathing
- Trembling or shaking
- Clamminess and sweating
- Chronic sleep impairment
- Impaired impulse control
VA PTSD ratings are determined by the degree to which these veteran's PTSD symptoms cause occupational impairment. In other words, how much the veteran's symptoms impair the veteran's ability to work. The VA rating for PTSD directly influences the amount of disability benefits awarded for a VA PTSD claim in the form of monthly compensation and financial support.
Establishing a PTSD VA Rating for Your Disability Claim
Medical Evidence
To establish your claim for VA disability benefits for a psychological disorder such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression, you should have medical evidence such as a mental health diagnosis and treatment from a doctor or qualified healthcare provider. You must also establish that the mental disorder is the result of traumatic events that occurred in-service. Since conditions, like PTSD, anxiety, and depression can sometimes surface in veterans years after the in-service event, it's especially important to report these symptoms to a medical professional when they start to occur. The medical records can further be supported by statements from family and friends as well as any changes in your work performance or employment status. This can be important when applying for disability compensation benefits, demonstrating how your mental health condition affects your ability to work as well as how your condition affects your family relations and social interactions.
Understanding The VA Rating System for PTSD
The VA disability benefits rating schedules specify functional limitations that must be met to obtain a certain disability rating percentage. The functional limitations considered by the VA PTSD rating system are the same as for all psychological diseases. For a mental health claim, it does not matter what the diagnosis is when determining the amount of benefit. All that matters for a disability rating score including VA PTSD ratings, is the extent of functional limitation. The extent of your monthly compensation is determined by your disability rating score.
Elements of a strong VA PTSD claim include:
- Current PTSD Diagnosis by a qualified healthcare professional
- Connection to traumatic events which occurred during military service
- Severe Symptoms Impacting the veterans ability to perform occupational tasks.
The VA applies its ratings system for psychological conditions as follows:
- 0%, This disability rating acknowledges the diagnosis for a disorder but doesn’t recognize that there are any significant PTSD symptoms. According to this rating there isn’t any impairment that would be considered to affect a veteran’s employment.
- 10%, A 10% disability rating indicates a diagnosed condition that may result in a small decrease in work efficiency. Under this rating, psychological disorders are often successfully controlled with medication.
- 30%, A disability rating for ptsd of 30% includes the diagnosis of a condition and can be associated with temporary memory loss, panic attacks, or trouble sleeping. This is considered to result in occasional difficulties or an inability to perform certain tasks.
- 50%, This disability rating for ptsd indicates difficulties not only in work performance but also social impairment that can hinder work and social relations, impairments in judgment and understanding of complex tasks, and more frequent panic attacks, usually occurring more than once a week.
- 70%, With a 70% ptsd va rating or other psychological conditions disability rating, a veteran could suffer from impaired judgment, thought process, and mood which would affect relations in and out of work. There could also be problems with impulse control, using appropriate speech, and maintaining personal hygiene. Or the individual may engage in obsessive or compulsive rituals such as frequent hand washing. At this VA disability ptsd rating, it may be possible to receive VA disability benefits for individual unemployability which offers the same pay as a 100% rating, but without having the rating increased.
- 100%, With a 100% disability rating, the VA considers the veteran to have Total Occupational and Social Impairment and is considered to be unable to perform everyday tasks as a result of the psychological disorder. In some cases the individual may experience frequent hallucinations, engage in delusional thinking, or possibly be in danger of hurting themselves or others.
At the 100% disability rating for PTSD, a veteran receives the maximum amount of disability pay, which as of 2026 ranges from$ 3,938.57 per month for a single veteran and as much $4,671.46 if the veteran is living with a spouse, children, or parents. However it is important to understand that the VA doesn't just add up the percentages for multiple conditions. For this reason, VA ratings of 100% are not easy to obtain even with claims for multiple disabilities.
VA Disability Ratings With Multiple Psychological Conditions
Anxiety and Depression are common PTSD symptoms, though they also may be separate conditions with their own VA ratings. Bipolar disease is another example. If the disease arises, due to a traumatic event, during military service, or because of military service, the disease is compensable. However, the VA doesn't allow the same symptoms to be rated for more than one condition. For example they won't issue a VA disability rating for anxiety and a VA disability rating for depression. Since the VA will only issue one disability rating for a psychological disorder, including all PTSD symptoms in your claim can improve your PTSD VA rating or disability rating for other mental health conditions.
PTSD Ratings and Secondary Conditions
If a veteran develops a condition as a result of a service-connected disability it is known as a secondary condition. The secondary condition can be rated as a separate condition and its rating could be combined with the rating for the primary condition to form a higher rating.
Combined VA Ratings
When one service-connected condition exists alongside another service-connected condition the two conditions can be rated separately and the two ratings can be combined. Unfortunately, the percentage from the two ratings are not just added up. The second condition will be rated on the remaining percentage of the first condition to be rated and then the two will be added up.
A secondary condition can also arise from a primary service-connected condition. In these cases, the rating for the secondary condition can be combined with the primary condition. There are a number of conditions that can arise from service-connected PTSD and have the two ratings combined. In some cases, PTSD can develop as a secondary condition to a primary service-connected disability.
Some conditions that develop as secondary conditions to service-connected PTSD include:
- Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Conditions - Chronic stress and anxiety can lead to conditions that can affect the heart such as hypertension (high blood pressure), damage to arteries, and inflammation which increase the incidence of heart disease and stroke.
- Gastrointestinal Issues - By causing ongoing stress and anxiety, PTSD can lead to Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and other digestive disorders.
- Sleep Apnea - A condition that disrupts nighttime sleep when the individual temporarily stops breathing. This can be induced by disrupted sleep patterns, nighttime panic attacks, and hypervigilance brought on by trauma.
- Migraine and Tension Headaches - These types of headaches can occur as a result of muscle tension, disruption in sleep, and stress hormones which can all be a result of PTSD.
- Sexual and Erectile Dysfunction - Physical and psychological stress and related hypervigilance can interfere with the ability to attain sexual arousal and function.
PTSD can also be a secondary to a service-connected condition such as:
- Chronic back pain
- Traumatic brain injury
Secondary Conditions and Individual Unemployability
While a secondary condition or a separately rated condition can be combined with a primary condition, given the way that VA ratings are combined by the VA, it is rare that the two would add up to a 100% rating. The VA however, can make a decision based on Individual Unemployability, which is also known as Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU). TDIU takes into account the medical condition causing the disability and also considers your ability to find or maintain employment. Individual Unemployability also takes into account circumstances that can impair functioning in the workplace even if the person can perform the duties of the job. This can include factors like how PTSD affects a veteran's ability to get along with coworkers or to be able to deal with loud noises or bright lights, when they would otherwise be able to perform the duties of the job.
TDIU pays VA benefits at the 100% rating level even if you don't receive a 100% rating. In general it takes a rating of at least 70% to be able to achieve TDIU. In many cases, a secondary condition can lead to a 70% rating or higher which can make a finding of Individual Unemployability more likely.
The Attorneys at the Friedman Firm Are Experienced with Veterans Disability Claims
The attorneys at the Friedman Firm are experienced with making disability compensation claims that include all relevant PTSD symptoms and connect a veteran's symptoms to the highest possible VA rating for PTSD or other psychological and mental disorders, as well as conditions secondary to PTSD. We can also advocate to increase your VA rating for one or more conditions if you think you received an inaccurate rating or if one or both of your conditions have worsened over time. Our goal as the veteran's attorney is to obtain medical evidence of the psychological disorder, whatever it may be, and then show how that evidence limits the veteran's ability to work.