For all the veterans out there, the disability rating, or the VA rating, is a crucial number. When you’re injured during your service, you might not be able to go back to your normal life, which is why you need to seek financial compensation to be able to live comfortably. Your VA rating will determine how much you can be compensated based on a number of factors. If you’re trying to find a way to increase your VA disability rating, read on to learn some fool-proof methods that many veterans have used to do so successfully.
High-Value Disability Claims
The VA’S Rating Authorities may assign you an unsatisfactory rating during the VA Disability process. Although it may sound fair at the beginning, you’ll soon find out that you need better compensation as your condition becomes worse with the passage of years, which is why you’ll need to file for a high-value disability claim. If you want to increase your rating from 70% to 100%, you can file an appeal with VA’s decision, given that you are outside the one-year period. As you file for that claim, you can submit new documentation or evidence that explains how your service-related condition has become worse. In that case, the VA will work on increasing your rating, but your evidence must be “new and material” in order for that to happen.
File an Appeal
A 70% disability rating might not do your injury justice, which will prompt you to look for a way to increase it through other means like filing an appeal, for example. If you want to know how to increase VA disability rating through an appeal, you’ll have to work fast within a one-year period, starting from the date on which you received the rating, to file a Notice of Disagreement. The first thing you’ll need to do is file an appeal under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA), which will present you with three options: a supplemental claim lane, a higher-level review lane, and a notice of disagreement lane. From there, you will have one year to choose one of those lanes. This can be your next step to take in case your disability claim has been denied.
Get DBQ Forms
Disability Benefit Questionnaire Reviews, or the DBQ forms, are one of the best methods to increase your VA rating. Although the VA has removed the DBQs from their website, you can still use them as a piece of evidence to prove the severity of your service-related injury. Once you get your DBQ from a qualified medical provider, you can present your VA disability condition as well as your symptoms to the Veterans Service Representative (VSR) and the Ratings Veterans Service Representative (RVSR) at the VA. This will guarantee a higher VA rating without the need to file for a claim or an appeal. You can also get a Disability Benefits Report (DBR), which can be processed by a medical provider who will evaluate your service-related conditions.
Obtain a VA Buddy Letter
If you’re not familiar with VA buddy letters, they’re basically credible statements that are written by an individual (18 or older) who is fully knowledgeable of the events of your injury or has directly witnessed it. Thus, a fellow service member, a friend, your boss, or even a coworker can provide a written statement and it would be considered credible as long as they explain your disability condition and the symptoms you struggle with every day. Of course, buddy letters can’t work on their own and are usually written to support VA disability claims. Thus, they can increase your chances of winning the case by miles.
Make Sure you Qualify for TDIU Benefit
The Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is a benefit that you can obtain from the department of VA in case your service-related injury is preventing you from working properly. This will allow you to get a disability compensation that equates to that of a 100 percent rating, even if your VA rating does not reach the 100 percent schedular. To obtain this benefit, you must demonstrate your inability to work. Thus, the difference between a 100 VA rating and TDIU is the impact the TDIU will have on your future employment status, so if you’re planning on working for additional income, it is better that you try to get a 100 rating through the above-mentioned methods.
Veterans may find themselves in a bit of an impasse when it comes to their VA rating, especially that even the slightest change can reduce the number of benefits they could obtain. That is why it is crucial that they pursue a higher rating through the different means presented in this guide. However, it is important to note that claims can take a while (between 3-6 months) to be processed.
