80 Percent VA Disability: The main component of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits program is the disability rate. This number establishes your eligibility for additional benefits as well as the amount of your disability pension. That’s the reason why a lot of sick veterans try to raise their percentage, but how difficult is it to do so? This is important to know.
The disability rate, which is given as a percentage, tells you how much your health situation limits your ability to make a good living and how much it lowers your quality of life. The VA decides the rate in 10% steps, depending on how bad your health is.
The VA determines your combined disability rate, approximating your monthly benefit if you have multiple conditions. But it’s not as easy as just adding up all of the disability rates. The VA Disability Calculator makes it easy to complete a difficult computation that determines the final rate.
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For instance, reaching 80% does not guarantee that two requirements, each rated at 40%, will be met. It’s a complex math, but two 40% conditions add up to a combined disability rate of 64%. For this reason, increasing from an 80% to a 100% rate is challenging, but it is not impossible.
80 Percent VA Disability: How can I raise my percentage of disability?
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The VA understands that many medical problems deteriorate over time. For this reason, requests to raise your disability rate are welcome. You have two options for doing this, depending on how long it has been since the VA determined your health.
You can file an appeal if you think the VA made a mistake with your health diagnosis, if you have new symptoms that make your condition worse, and if the VA’s decision was made less than a year ago.
If, after more than a year, your condition has gotten worse or if the old condition has made you get a new one, you may be able to get your rate raised.
In both cases, you have to show all the medical proof you have to support your request.
Private medical data, VA health care records, medical opinions, and testimonies from friends, family, and coworkers can all be submitted.
TDIU
Your chances of reaching 100% may be hampered by the VA’s methodology for calculating disability, even if you have provided all the necessary documentation. Even if your rate is lower, there is still another way for you to get 100% rewards.
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If your disability rate is lower, you can still receive a 100% pension under the Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) benefit. Veterans whose conditions prohibit them from finding or sustaining substantially gainful employment are eligible for this benefit, which is provided by the VA.
To qualify, you must either have two or more conditions, at least one of which must be rated at 40% or higher, and which together achieve a cumulative rate of 70% or higher, or a service-connected condition with a rating of 60% or higher.
Though challenging, the path is not insurmountable. In any event, to successfully negotiate the complex maze of VA laws and receive just compensation for your illness, you must have expert legal counsel.