Increasing a VA Disability Rating

If you are a veteran with service-connected disabilities, you may look to increase your disability rating if you feel the VA incorrectly rated your conditions, if your conditions have worsened, or if new conditions have developed. When seeking a VA disability increase, you can file a claim for increased disability, add additional conditions to a claim, appeal your case, or file for TDIU. 

How VA disability ratings work

Veterans with service-connected disabilities may be eligible for VA benefits based on the severity of their condition. You must prove your conditions are related to your military service and file a claim with the VA for these conditions.

Veterans can connect their disability to their military service in several ways:

• Direct service connections are for conditions that began during or after the veteran’s military service due to service-related activities or environmental exposures.
• Service connections based on aggravation are for conditions that pre-existed the veteran’s service and were aggravated during military service.
• Secondary service connections are for conditions caused by another service-connected condition.
• Presumptive service connections are available for specific conditions the VA assumes, or presumes, were caused by the unique circumstances of a veteran’s military service and do not require additional evidence of a connection between the diagnosis and the military service.

If a veteran is granted a service-connected disability, the VA assigns a rating between 0% and 100% for each disability. The VA uses the listings in the Schedule for Rating Disabilities in the Code of Federal Regulations to determine the correct rating. Generally, a rating represents the effect the disability has had on the veteran’s health and ability to function and determines what benefits a veteran is eligible to receive.

Many veterans receive benefits for multiple health conditions. In fact, veterans who receive disability benefits have an average of 6.2 service-connected disabilities.

How to Increase your VA Disability Rating

Veterans with more than one service-connected disability get assigned a rating for each, unless VA regulations require the conditions to be rated together as one disability. To combine the ratings, the VA uses a unique formula, often called “VA math.” VA math can be hard to follow, but we have a calculator to help. In short, two 60% ratings won’t equal a 120% rating.

Below is a table of the current VA disability rates for a single veteran with no dependents or additional benefits. 

VA Rating	VA Monthly Compensation (Veteran only)
10%	$180.42
20%	$356.66
30%	$552.47
40%	$795.84
50%	$1,132.90
60%	$1,434.02
70%	$1,808.45
80%	$2,102.15
90%	$2,362.30
100% (or TDIU)	$3,938.58

Veterans who wish to increase their VA disability benefits can take several different approaches, including filing a claim for an increase in benefits, adding additional service-connected conditions, appealing the rating, or seeking individual unemployability benefits.

Increasing a VA disability rating when a condition has gotten worse

When veterans’ conditions worsen after receiving an initial rating, they can file a claim for increased benefits. They must have up-to-date evidence proving that the disability has worsened. 

How to increase a VA disability rating with secondary conditions

As veterans age, they may see new issues, like heart disease or arthritis, develop from their initial service-connected disabilities. And while veterans can, and often do, include multiple disabilities in an initial claim for benefits, many veterans increase their disability ratings by adding additional conditions later in the process. 

Filing claims for secondary conditions can increase veterans’ combined ratings, allowing them to receive additional benefits. However, because of the VA’s unique formula for combining ratings, each rating is not just added to the total. In fact, each additional condition has an increasingly diminished impact on the overall rating, making receiving a 100% rating difficult but still possible. In 2022, 20.44% of veterans with multiple service-connected disabilities had a combined rating of 100%.

When veterans add additional health conditions to increase their ratings, they must provide evidence of the new health condition’s connection to their service or an already established service-connected disability. The VA also may require a compensation and pension (C&P) exam to evaluate the veteran’s disabilities further for an accurate rating. 

Appealing for a VA disability increase

Veterans who believe their disability rating is incorrect and should be higher can appeal their rating decisions. Veterans who received a decision before Feb. 19, 2019, may still be managing their appeals through the legacy system. If a veteran filed their VA disability claim after Feb. 19, 2019, their appeal is automatically put through the AMA system. In the AMA system, veterans can have three options for a VA disability appeal. 

• Higher-Level Review (HLR) – The VA reviews the claim based on evidence already in the veteran’s file.
• Supplemental claim – The VA reviews the veteran’s claim with new and relevant evidence.
• Appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) – A Veterans Law Judge reviews the veteran’s claim.

There is no “best” way to appeal. The correct method for appealing a decision is chosen based on your unique circumstances. When appealing, additional help from a VA-accredited disability lawyer or VSO can help you select the process that will most likely result in success. VA-accredited disability lawyers also consider the path that will preserve your earliest possible effective date and maximize back pay. 

Filing for TDIU 

While total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) benefits do not change a veteran’s schedular rating, it can help them receive more monthly compensation and better access to healthcare. TDIU pays the same as a 100% disability rating.

TDIU is an option for veterans whose rating or combined rating already meets specific criteria and who cannot maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities. 

To receive TDIU, you normally must have at least one disability rated at least 60% or two or more disabilities with a combined rating of 70% or more. If you have a combined rating, one disability must be rated at 40% or more. 

Evidence to support a VA disability increase

In nearly all the ways veterans can seek an increased rating, the VA will require additional evidence. This evidence might include medical records from private, VA, or military clinics and supporting statements. Supporting statements, sometimes called lay or buddy statements, are written by the veteran’s friends, family, coworkers, or fellow service members. 

When asked about buddy statements, VA-accredited disability benefits lawyer Lori Underwood stated, “There are many ways in which you could use a buddy statement to help you develop claims for service connection, increased rating, or even to reopen claims. While the VA will not seek out buddy statements for you, they are very useful tools that the VA will consider credible evidence if they’re done in the right way.” 

New and relevant evidence will be needed if you are filing for any new condition, filing a supplemental claim to appeal a decision, or appeal to the BVA, unless you request a higher level review or “direct review.” 

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VA effective dates and back pay

Veterans can file a claim for a rating increase, appeal a decision, or file for TDIU at any time after an initial decision, but these processes can take a while, sometimes even years. Because of this wait, the VA determines an effective date so veterans who are ultimately awarded benefits can be compensated for the time spent waiting for the VA to make a decision. This comes in the form of a single payment called a retroactive award, which is more commonly called “back pay.”

“The date you file your claim is likely to become your effective date for a service connection or an increase.” said VA disability benefits lawyer Lori Underwood. “The effective date is the date at which you can calculate any back pay that the VA may owe you from your increase or service-connected rating.” 

You can use the Woods & Woods back pay calculator to see how much an appeal could be worth.

Hiring a VA disability increase lawyer

With so many ways to increase a VA disability rating, it can be challenging to determine the best strategy for your situation. When you contact the team at Woods & Woods, you’ll receive help from a dedicated team who has helped thousands of veterans nationwide get the VA benefits they deserve. Call us for a free case evaluation to determine how we can assist with your claim. 

Frequently asked questions