HOW TO COMBINE MORE THAN ONE VA DISABILITY RATING
Where a veteran receives service connected compensation for multiple disabilities the VA combines the disability ratings. It does not add the ratings together. Combining the ratings determines the “combined disability rating” that is used to determine the amount of benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that the veteran is eligible to receive. The process by which multiple disability ratings are combined is not a simple one, since combined ratings are not additive. For example, if a veteran has one disability with a rating of 50% and another disability with a rating of 20%, the combined rating is not 70% but 60%. This is known as ‘VA math.’ A special combined ratings table is used to combine two or more disability ratings.
HOW TO USE THE COMBINED RATINGS TABLE
To combine multiple ratings, you must first arrange the multiple ratings in descending order of severity. If your highest rating is 50% and the next rating is 30%, you will find “50” down the left-hand column of the table and then move to the right until aligned with “30” along the top row. The number in the box where 50 and 30 intersect is “65.” The combined value will then be converted to the nearest number divisible by 10, and combined values ending in 5 will be adjusted upward. Thus, a 50% rating combined with a 30% rating has a combined disability rating of 70%, which represents the final degree of disability that is compensable.
If there is a third or subsequent number, then there are additional steps. Let’s use the same example from above, but add a third disability rating of 10%. You will follow the same steps above, but instead of stopping at 65 and rounding up to 70%, you will locate the box that intersects with 65 in the left-hand column and 10 in the top row (for the 10% disability rating), which is 69. This means that an individual with three disability ratings of 50%, 30%, and 10% still has an combined disability rating of 70% because 69 rounds up to 70.
MAKE SURE YOU RECEIVE MAXIMUM BENEFITS
Do not settle for benefits based on one major disability when you could receive additional compensation by combining two or more disability ratings. In order to maximize your VA benefits, gather as much evidence of your multiple service-connected injuries as possible – medical evaluations, doctors’ progress notes,physical evaluation board records, and other similar documentation. Prove to VA that you have more than one service-related disability and give them the time to combine those ratings. It is well worth it in the end to receive additional monthly, tax-free VA disability benefits.
The most important steps you can take are to educate yourself and to get professional counsel. Read through the rest of this extensive VA disability informative website to learn more about VA benefits and your options. Then speak with a qualified agent or attorney, or visit your local VA office for qualified counsel.