The VA has a general rating formula for all mental health conditions, including PTSD. For PTSD, the possible disability ratings are:
0%: The veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD, but their symptoms are not severe enough to impact their professional or social functioning, or to require the continuous use of medication.
10%: The veteran may experience mild symptoms of PTSD, which may lead to problems at work, at home or in social situations during times of severe stress. Symptoms are controlled by continuous medication.
30%: The veteran may experience impairment at work or in social situations and may experience occasional decreases in productivity or an inability to perform their job duties because of their PTSD symptoms. These symptoms can include depression, anxiety, sleep impairment, memory loss, or panic attacks.
50%: The veteran may experience a significant reduction in their productivity at work because of panic attacks, having difficulty with speech, experiencing memory problems or difficulty understanding. complex commands. Veterans may also struggle to maintain or develop work or social relationships
70%: The veteran may experience deficiencies in most social and professional areas, including their relationships with friends or family, the ability to perform their job duties, and may experience problems with their thinking, mood or judgement. They may also experience suicidal ideations, obsessive thoughts or rituals, depression, lack of impulse control, or difficulty adapting to stressful situations.
100%: The veteran is unable to function at work or in social settings as a result of their symptoms.
Who is Eligible to Receive a Disability Rating for PTSD?
There is a VA policy (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155) for mental disorders because of traumatic stress, stated:
If a service member develops a mental disorder as a result of a highly stressful event, and that disorder is severe enough to lead to the veteran being released from active duty, the service member will and can receive a PTSD rating.
Additionally, there are other specific criteria that must be met in order to receive a rating for PTSD. These include:
Social and occupational impairment
Reduced productivity
Panic attacks more than once a week
Impaired short-term and long-term memory
Forgetting to complete tasks and difficulty understanding commands
Impaired abstract thinking and impaired judgment
Negative changes in mood
Difficulty maintaining and establishing personal and professional relationships
In order for a veteran’s PTSD claim to be recognized by the VA as service-connected, the diagnosis must be given by a physician or other medical professional who is qualified to perform a PTSD-specific Compensation and Pension examination. In order to be able to meet the VA’s criteria for diagnosing PTSD, medical professionals must:
Have doctoral-level training in psychopathology, clinical interviewing methods and diagnostic methods.
Have a great deal of experience in a clinical setting with diagnosing and treating veterans who have PTSD.
These can include board-certified psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, psychiatric residents, and psychology interns under the supervision of an attending psychologist or psychiatrist.
While the symptoms of PTSD can begin immediately after a traumatic event, for the purposes of VA disability claims, a full diagnosis cannot be made until at least six months after the traumatic event occurred.
If you need help filing your PTSD VA disability claim, click here.
VA Disability Ratings for PTSD
PTSD can be the result of occurrences such as combat, personal trauma, or other extremely stressful events, and can have negative impacts on a veteran’s personal and professional life. In 2018, there were nearly 65,000 new VA disability claims for PTSD, and more than 800,000 veterans received compensation from the VA because of some level of PTSD symptoms.
In order to be assigned a disability rating from the VA for PTSD, a veteran must be able to show that their condition is connected to an event that occurred during their military service. The disability rating will be assigned based on the severity of the condition, as well as the amount of earnings the veteran has lost as a result of their condition.
In order for a veteran to receive VA disability benefits for PTSD, all of the following criteria must be met:
The stressor or traumatic event must have happened during the veteran’s military service.
The veteran has been diagnosed with PTSD by a medical professional who is qualified to make a PTSD diagnosis.
The PTSD symptoms that the veteran experiences makes them unable to function as well as they were able to prior to the traumatic event.
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