Blindness Makes a Difficult VA Application Worse
Applying for VA disability is made to be easy. Of course, after hundreds of person-hours dedicated to streamlining the forms and revamping the system several times over the last 10 years, you can quickly get overwhelmed. When you add to that the fact that the whole reason why you’re applying for VA disability is that you’re disabled, it makes the whole process worse!
Blindness or even partial vision loss will make the flood of forms even more difficult. If it’s hard to get the forms right while you can see them clearly, you can imagine how hard it would be to apply for VA disability for blindness.
In the most recent year that we have the data, in 2018, over 35% of VA disability applications were denied because of mistakes. Some of the mistakes were on the part of the veteran filling out the forms, but that also includes mistakes by the VA. When the VA makes a mistake on your claim, who is going to fight for you? That’s where we come in.
We will take you through the entire process of applying for VA disability. It doesn’t matter if you can’t read the documents or if you can’t even see them because we do the work for you. We work with hundreds of veterans every week with all kinds of conditions. If you have a family member that can help you out, we can work with them too.
It’s easy to put off any hard task but don’t put off applying for disability for your service-connected vision problem. It might take years to get a final decision from the VA, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop working for you. The sooner you apply, the sooner you can get a VA rating for blindness and start receiving checks.
Call Woods and Woods, the Veteran’s Firm, today. We can put our whole team on your case and figure out if your eye handicap is service-connected.
In this article about how to apply for VA disability when you’re blind:
- Blindness Qualifies for VA Disability
- How Does the VA Rate Eye Conditions and Blindness?
- Loss of Field of View VA Ratings
- What Kind Of Services Does the VA Provide for Me if I’m Blind?
- The VA Application And Appeal Process
- SMC for Blindness from the VA
- Blindness as a Secondary Service Connection
- The VA Will Have Lawyers on Their Side, We are the Lawyers on Your Side
- VA Ratings Tables for Vision Loss or Complete Blindness from 38 CFR §4.79
Blindness Qualifies for VA Disability
There are several conditions that can cause blindness or extreme pain in your eyes. One of them is scleritis. It can destroy tissue within the eye called necrotizing scleritis. You can get it as a result of having lupus or other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions can easily prove a service connection if you begin to show these symptoms or are even diagnosed while in service.
If you don’t have that clear of a service connection, you’ll need to show evidence that something that happened during your time enlisted triggered your eye disability. Blindness from an injury would show up instantly. Blindness as a side effect of a disease or a less direct injury could take years to show up.
How Does the VA Rate Eye Conditions and Blindness?
The ratings are done on the basis of visual impairment or an incapacitating episode. The condition that results in a higher evaluation is the one that the VA will use.
When you have blindness in one eye, your VA rating is based on the level of vision you have in your other eye. The incredibly long VA Ratings Table of those combinations is at the bottom of this page.
Whether you are able to see light or not is only one factor. The specifics of what you can see are also a factor. Complete loss of an eye is always counted as complete blindness, of course.
Loss of Field of View VA Ratings
You can have perfect 20/20 but still have loss of part of your field of view. This is called “Impairment of Visual Fields.” This is classified as the temporal, nasal, inferior, or superior half of your eye.
The 4 Visual Field Classifications:
- Temporal half: the field of view in the half of your eye closest to the temple of your head.
- Nasal half: The field of view in the half of your eye closest to your nose.
- Inferior half: The field of view in the bottom half of your eye.
- Superior half: The field of view in the top half of your eye.
Each of these is evaluated on its own and gets a 10% rating on its own, but if you have a bilateral loss of the temporal or inferior visual field, you get a 30% rating.
Cataracts affect your field of vision across your whole eye. Macular Degeneration affects the center of your eyes. This shows some of the ways that the VA can’t make a blanket rating for blindness but breaks it down into field of view depending on the condition.
What Kind Of Services Does the VA Provide for Me if I’m Blind?
There are a lot of services that you can take advantage of if you are a veteran that is blind. You have access to these things even before you receive a rating for blindness. These are VA services that are available through your local VA office. Talk to your VA rep about how you can get these services locally.
- Vision-enhancing devices and technologies (like electronic reading machines and electronic mobility devices)—and training in how to use them
- Training in new visual skills to help with everyday tasks (like reading, writing, cooking, managing your medicines, and locating and reading signs)
- Sensory training (training that helps you better use your other senses—like hearing or touch)
- Mobility and orientation training (training that helps you create mental maps that make you feel more confident as you move through the world)
- Strategies for restoring your ability to communicate through writing or using the computer
- Counseling and group therapy to help you adjust to blindness
- Family-centered care that helps your family learn how to support you as you adjust to blindness
This list was taken from the VA.Gov page “VA blind and low vision rehabilitation services”
The VA Application And Appeal Process
You can register at eBenefits.va.gov to start your application. We can even help you do that as part of your free call to Woods and Woods, The Veterans Firm. You can also use the benefits finder on benefits.gov as shown in this video.
The application process is done best if you make sure you meet all of your deadlines, file the proper forms, get input from a qualified Nexus doctor, and provide relevant evidence to service connect every one of your conditions. While the VA is legally required to work hard on your claim and give you ratings for as many conditions as they can, they are overworked. The backlog is getting bigger as the Covid–19 pandemic lingers on and VA workers have a harder time doing their normal work.
If you have already applied for VA disability and you’ve been denied, you have several options for an appeal. You can File for Reconsideration, but we don’t recommend it. You have a better chance when you file a NOD (Notice of Disagreement). We have helped thousands of veterans with those. First, you file the NOD, then you have some time to get together new evidence to better present your claim.
The process is a long one, but you’ll get paid backpay from the effective date the VA assigns you. Even then, sometimes they get it wrong and we have to go back to court to give you the effective date you deserve. Ask our team anytime about the status of your claim and we’ll keep you updated on the progress.
SMC for Blindness from the VA
You don’t have to be completely blind to get SMC benefits for blindness. SMC stands for Special Monthly Compensation. This is given to you by the VA as a monthly check in addition to the money you get for your VA rating. You can even get SMC with a 0% rating, depending on your disability.
The VA considers you blind enough for SMC if you can’t recognize letters one foot away or objects, hand movements, or counting fingers from 3 feet away. So, when it comes to your C&P Exam, don’t guess! If the doctor asks “How many fingers am I holding up?” and you can’t tell, make sure you say so. It’s ok to have light perception but not be able to distinguish objects. That is what the VA calls “negligible utility” and that is blind enough to get SMC.
All of that applies to only one eye. So if you have one completely fine eye with perfect 20/20 vision but the other eye can’t see the doctor hold up 3 fingers, you are considered SMC eligible.
Blindness as a Secondary Service Connection
If you suffer from service-connected diabetes, you are at risk of blindness. High blood sugar levels damage the retina at the back of your eye, causing a condition called diabetic retinopathy. Since this isn’t a direct service connection, the VA considers it a secondary service connection. Diabetes is your direct service connection. If you have retinopathy and even neuropathy, you can get a VA rating for both of them as secondary connections.
Every veteran that was around Agent Orange should be already getting disability for the Agent Orange presumptive conditions. If you are but you aren’t getting compensated for your vision disability, call the VA and get it added. Call us if you need help.
There are other vision conditions that can be caused by diabetes. Macular degeneration is also starting to have a link with diabetes. You are also eligible for a secondary service connection as well.
Scleritis, eye floaters, and lazy eye conditions can also be affected by illness, traumatic brain injuries, or spinal cord disabilities. All of this should be brought to the attention of the VA on your application. Work with a doctor that is familiar with VA law so that your nexus letter is accurate and paints a complete picture of your life with a disability. You don’t want to short-change yourself on any of your benefits.
The VA Will Have Lawyers on Their Side,
We are the Lawyers on Your Side
At Woods and Woods, the Veteran’s Firm, we’ve helped thousands of veterans with their VA disability applications and appeals. We’ve been adding staff and lawyers during the Covid pandemic to better serve disabled veterans in difficult times.
Call us today to discuss your VA disability appeal or your first application. The call is free and we won’t charge you a single fee until we win your case. We even pay for the postage for all of the documentation you send to our office. You can look for a VA disability attorney near you or call us and join the thousands of veterans living off of VA disability thanks to Woods and Woods.
Talk to Us About Your Claim:
(866) 232-5777
Frequently Asked Questions
The VA will not want to pyramid your symptoms, so they will most likely diagnose you with one problem and attribute the other symptoms to that. You want to make sure a VA lawyer looks over what they diagnose, though, so that you don’t miss a rating on all of your conditions.
Visually impaired means that you have a vision problem that can be fixed with glasses. Blindness can still mean that you can distinguish light or dark, but you can’t recognize objects more than one foot away. While many veterans that are blind can’t see anything but darkness, most veterans that get disability for vision loss can still perceive light and dark.
You can remember this with twos and twenties. If your vision is 20/200 or worse, you are legally blind. If your field of view is less than 20º then you can also be rated as legally blind. You do not have to be legally blind to get VA disability for vision loss, though. Talk to our VA disability lawyers to see if your eyesight is bad enough for disability.
VA Ratings Tables for Vision Loss or Complete Blindness from 38 CFR §4.79
Impairment of Central Visual Acuity | VA Rating |
---|---|
6061 Anatomical loss of both eyes* | 100 |
6062 No more than light perception in both eyes* | 100 |
6063 Anatomical loss of one eye*: | |
In the other eye 5/200 (1.5/60) | 100 |
In the other eye 10/200 (3/60) | 90 |
In the other eye 15/200 (4.5/60) | 80 |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 50 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 40 |
6064 No more than light perception in one eye*: | |
In the other eye 5/200 (1.5/60) | 100 |
In the other eye 10/200 (3/60) | 90 |
In the other eye 15/200 (4.5/60) | 80 |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 50 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 40 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 30 |
6065 Vision in one eye 5/200 (1.5/60): | |
In the other eye 5/200 (1.5/60) | 1 100 |
In the other eye 10/200 (3/60) | 90 |
In the other eye 15/200 (4.5/60) | 80 |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 50 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 40 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 30 |
6066 Visual acuity in one eye 10/200 (3/60) or better: | |
Vision in one eye 10/200 (3/60): | |
In the other eye 10/200 (3/60) | 90 |
In the other eye 15/200 (4.5/60) | 80 |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 50 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 40 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 30 |
Vision in one eye 15/200 (4.5/60): | |
In the other eye 15/200 (4.5/60) | 80 |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 40 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 30 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 20 |
Vision in one eye 20/200 (6/60): | |
In the other eye 20/200 (6/60) | 70 |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 60 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 40 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 30 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 20 |
Vision in one eye 20/100 (6/30): | |
In the other eye 20/100 (6/30) | 50 |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 30 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 20 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 10 |
Vision in one eye 20/70 (6/21): | |
In the other eye 20/70 (6/21) | 30 |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 20 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 10 |
Vision in one eye 20/50 (6/15): | |
In the other eye 20/50 (6/15) | 10 |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 10 |
Vision in one eye 20/40 (6/12): | |
In the other eye 20/40 (6/12) | 0 |