Overview of VA Disability Claims

Your VA benefits are largely affected by whether you have a service-connected disability and the percentage of your disability rating. This resource focuses on mental health disability claims specifically.

Understanding Eligibility and Benefits

Who is Eligible for VA Mental Health Disability Benefits?

You may be eligible for VA mental health disability benefits or compensation if:

1. You have a mental health disorder; AND
2. You served on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training; AND
3. One of the following applies to you:
   • Your mental health disorder began while serving in the military
   • You have a physical illness or injury that occurred while serving in the military — and that has caused a mental health disorder
   • You had a mental health disorder before you joined the military — and serving made it worse
   • Your mental health disorder didn't appear until after you ended your service but it was caused by an event that occurred while serving in the military

Not every Veteran's mental health diagnosis would be eligible. However, there is significant overlap between the typical age of a Service Member and the typical age of onset for mental disorders, which increases the likelihood that mental health symptoms would have started during the Veteran's years of service.

What are VA Disability Benefits?

VA Disability Benefits include:

• Monthly tax-free payments (Disability Compensation)
• Free healthcare for your disability (Current VA health care copay rates)

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The VA Disability Claim Criteria & Process

Factors for Service Connection and Accurate Rating

A successful outcome for a VA Disability Claim includes getting your eligible claim approved AND receiving the appropriate Disability Rating. There's a big difference between a 30% rating and a 70% rating, and you deserve the rating that is accurate for you.

Three factors must be correctly conveyed to the VA for you to get service-connected and to receive an accurate Disability Rating:

1. Your mental health diagnosis
2. How your mental disorder is connected to your service, also known as "A Nexus".
3. What symptoms you are experiencing

The first two factors determine whether your claim gets approved, and the last factor determines the percentage of your Disability Rating. All three are important.

Hopefully, you can go through the standard VA Disability Claim process and have a successful outcome. That's the goal. That is also completely free.

There may be situations where your representative recommends that you get an Independent Medical Exam (IME), a Nexus Letter, or both. These additional documents aim to provide further evidence to support your diagnosis, establish the nexus, and accurately describe your symptoms.

• An Independent Medical Examination (IME) covers your diagnosis and your symptoms.
• A Nexus Letter connects your mental disorder to your service or another service-connected disorder.

If you need to pursue this documentation to prove or strengthen your case, we can help.

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Understanding VA Disability Ratings and Compensation

How Your Disability Rating is Determined:

When you become service-connected, the VA will determine your disability rating percentage. Percentage ratings for mental health disabilities are based on the level of your social and occupational impairment.

Mental health disorders can be rated at 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, or 100%. The rating depends on the severity and frequency of your symptoms. Each disorder has a different diagnostic code, but all mental disorders (except Eating Disorders) have the same rating criteria.

Therefore, it doesn't matter which mental disorder you have or how many mental disorders you have; your disability rating is based on which symptoms you are experiencing for any/all mental disorders. You will receive one rating for any/all mental disorders. To see if your rating matches your symptoms, you can look at the rating schedule.

Combined Disability Ratings and Resources

If you are a Veteran with multiple service-connected disabilities, the VA will calculate a combined disability rating. The calculations aren't as simple as 10% + 10% = 20%. You can use the VA Disability Calculator to estimate your combined disability rating.