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kia

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I was rate by the VA 40%. 30% for my MS and 10% for nere damage in my foot and 10% for my knee. now please explain the VAs math 30+10+10= 50 not 40. Anyway it took me 7 years any plenty of hospital stays to getting re-evaluate and receiving a rating of 70%. but once again with VA math not real math. This is what I mean I already had 40% and then I received 30% for Migraine cuased by chronic steroid use,10% for Neuropathy right upper extremity,10%right lower extremity,and 10% for GERD seondary to chronic steroid use. How does this equal 70% CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS!!!!!!!

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Kia, nice to meet you. The ratings calculator located on the home page for hadit under the veterans resource is a good tool to use to compute VA combined ratings....

http://www.hadit.com/index.php?categoryid=45

Now with that said the reason VA rates like the do is because they use a special sort of math....

I am going to copy and paste an explanation I used on another board...

OK, this thread is about VA math... and how they rate claims etc. Believe it or not, VA math is very similar to the same formula used by workmans comp. It is based upon a number of "health or body" points.

So... lets do a short example...

Each veteran has 100 "body" points...

When a veteran receives a rating the VA takes the largest percentage first and applies it to the "body" points... like so

Veteran A received a rating of 40% for PTSD

The VA applies that 40% to the 100 body point and comes up with a rating of... 40% with a REMAINED of 60 body points...

Then they take the next highest rated injury... in this example lets say 30% for IVDS

The VA applies that 30% against the REMANING 60 body points... coming up with 18 ... >30X60=18

They then add that to the 40, and you get a rating of 58...since the VA rounds UP when the last number is 5 or better the veteran has an overall rating of 60%...

NOT the 70% you would expect... and its because each rating is sucessivly taken from a smaller and smaller pool of "health or body" points.

So... let say the veteran also has a 10% rating for tinnitus...

10% of the 42 REMAINING body points... is 4.2... so lets add them up..

40 + 18 + 4.2 = 62.2 and since the VA rounds DOWN when the last number is 4 or less the Veteran STILL has a rating of... 60%

You see the higher you go, the progressively HARDER it is to get a overall higher rating... to get a 100% schedular (thats what we call this type of rating..) is really really hard. You have to have some very big ratings, or a single rating of 100% (which they do give out, I know I have one for loss of use of both legs) or a whole BUNCH, and I mean a bunch of smaller ratings.

Now the VA can decide to go outside the schedular (extra-schedular it is called) and rate someone on unemployability, or even higher than CFR 38 allows for some things because the rater feels it combined with certain other disabilities causes a much higher overall disability rating than is normally shown. And they DO do this... I have seen it several times. It's just not really common.

So as we can see it becomes progressively harder to get 70, 80 thru 100% ratings. Oddly enough the LARGEST gaps in payment come between 70-100% 100% is almost DOUBLE what 70% is, look at the rating tables yourself and see. I am not sure of any good reason for this, though I am sure the VA has one.... it just seems really convenient for the VA to have the higher payments, with the biggest jumps in the hardest catagories to get to.....

I am going to catch some flack for that opinion from others outside this board, but... there you go, its what I think. Personally I dont understand why the compensation just doesnt go up 10% each 10% in rating... so each 10% would be $240 or so... but thats not the way its done, and it is strangely convienient for the government, since they dont have to pay out nearly as much...

Anyway, thats why some vets have almost 100% in various ratings, but are RATED at 60% or so....

OK.. I hope this helps.

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PROBABLY WOULDNT READ THIS WITHOUT A BIG CUP OF COFFEE.... AND MAYBE A VALIUM, it might make more sense then..... its in VA speak so be warned....

§4.25 Combined ratings table.

Table I, Combined Ratings Table, results from the consideration of the efficiency of the individual as affected first by the most disabling condition, then by the less disabling condition, then by other less disabling conditions, if any, in the order of severity. Thus, a person having a 60 percent disability is considered 40 percent efficient. Proceeding from this 40 percent efficiency, the effect of a further 30 percent disability is to leave only 70 percent of the efficiency remaining after consideration of the first disability, or 28 percent efficiency altogether. The individual is thus 72 percent disabled, as shown in table I opposite 60 percent and under 30 percent.

(a) To use table I, the disabilities will first be arranged in the exact order of their severity, beginning with the greatest disability and then combined with use of table I as hereinafter indicated. For example, if there are two disabilities, the degree of one disability will be read in the left column and the degree of the other in the top row, whichever is appropriate. The figures appearing in the space where the column and row intersect will represent the combined value of the two. This combined value will then be converted to the nearest number divisible by 10, and combined values ending in 5 will be adjusted upward. Thus, with a 50 percent disability and a 30 percent disability, the combined value will be found to be 65 percent, but the 65 percent must be converted to 70 percent to represent the final degree of disability. Similarly, with a disability of 40 percent, and another disability of 20 percent, the combined value is found to be 52 percent, but the 52 percent must be converted to the nearest degree divisible by 10, which is 50 percent. If there are more than two disabilities, the disabilities will also be arranged in the exact order of their severity and the combined value for the first two will be found as previously described for two disabilities. The combined value, exactly as found in table I, will be combined with the degree of the third disability (in order of severity). The combined value for the three disabilities will be found in the space where the column and row intersect, and if there are only three disabilities will be converted to the nearest degree divisible by 10, adjusting final 5’s upward. Thus if there are three disabilities ratable at 60 percent, 40 percent, and 20 percent, respectively, the combined value for the first two will be found opposite 60 and under 40 and is 76 percent. This 76 will be combined with 20 and the combined value for the three is 81 percent. This combined value will be converted to the nearest degree divisible by 10 which is 80 percent. The same procedure will be employed when there are four or more disabilities. (See table I).

(:angry: Except as otherwise provided in this schedule, the disabilities arising from a single disease entity, e.g., arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular accident, etc., are to be rated separately as are all other disabling conditions, if any. All disabilities are then to be combined as described in paragraph (a) of this section. The conversion to the nearest degree divisible by 10 will be done only once per rating decision, will follow the combining of all disabilities, and will be the last procedure in determining the combined degree of disability. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1155)

Theres a table that goes with this, but its... well posting the reg was too much, if you want to look at the table go to www.va.gov and search cfr38 section 4.25....

I like my explination better anyway....

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Wow Six - you were right that needs some thought process while reading it but it is accurate and a good explanation. Although I am usally on the VA like a maggot on you know what, the thing that needs to be remembered here is that with this disability system you can be rated at 70, 80, 90, or even 100 percent disabled, draw the corresponding disability payment and still work a full time job if you are capable. So it is the only disability system that pays you and still allows you to hold a job and make unlimited amounts of income. There is no other disability system like this in the United States so in that sense the math is fair. Just my opinion. An example would be you are rated 100 percent based upon loss of use for both legs, however you could still work for a company in the computer field, security field, management field etc..... and draw a salary of 150,000 per year - that is a pretty good disability system.

This statement does not apply if you are rated for mental issues such as PTSD etc.......... There are special condiserations in rating mental issues.

Edited by Ricky
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Thanks for the info and I agree with your opion on this VA math. I did try to get unemployability but I was denied it because at the time I did not have a rating of 60%. My thing is that in the State of Georgia if you are rated as 100% disable from the Va or if you get received SSDI you will be exempt for property tax and you don't have to pay for tags for your car. these are great things because my property taxes eat up my money and between my mortage and property tax I'm barely making it with two children to raised by myself and living with the MS and the treatments. so if the Va doesn't want to pay me 100% the achknowledgement of 100% would help. but that would be too much like right.

The funny thing about all of this is that I loved being a soldier and when I was made "Medically Retired" and told I could no longer do my job its funny how now that I am worse than I was back then in 1999 how the VA and Social Security keep telling me pretty much that you're ok and your employable maybe not for what your trained to do but Mcdonalds is hiring.

Kia, nice to meet you. The ratings calculator located on the home page for hadit under the veterans resource is a good tool to use to compute VA combined ratings....

http://www.hadit.com/index.php?categoryid=45

Now with that said the reason VA rates like the do is because they use a special sort of math....

I am going to copy and paste an explanation I used on another board...

OK, this thread is about VA math... and how they rate claims etc. Believe it or not, VA math is very similar to the same formula used by workmans comp. It is based upon a number of "health or body" points.

So... lets do a short example...

Each veteran has 100 "body" points...

When a veteran receives a rating the VA takes the largest percentage first and applies it to the "body" points... like so

Veteran A received a rating of 40% for PTSD

The VA applies that 40% to the 100 body point and comes up with a rating of... 40% with a REMAINED of 60 body points...

Then they take the next highest rated injury... in this example lets say 30% for IVDS

The VA applies that 30% against the REMANING 60 body points... coming up with 18 ... >30X60=18

They then add that to the 40, and you get a rating of 58...since the VA rounds UP when the last number is 5 or better the veteran has an overall rating of 60%...

NOT the 70% you would expect... and its because each rating is sucessivly taken from a smaller and smaller pool of "health or body" points.

So... let say the veteran also has a 10% rating for tinnitus...

10% of the 42 REMAINING body points... is 4.2... so lets add them up..

40 + 18 + 4.2 = 62.2 and since the VA rounds DOWN when the last number is 4 or less the Veteran STILL has a rating of... 60%

You see the higher you go, the progressively HARDER it is to get a overall higher rating... to get a 100% schedular (thats what we call this type of rating..) is really really hard. You have to have some very big ratings, or a single rating of 100% (which they do give out, I know I have one for loss of use of both legs) or a whole BUNCH, and I mean a bunch of smaller ratings.

Now the VA can decide to go outside the schedular (extra-schedular it is called) and rate someone on unemployability, or even higher than CFR 38 allows for some things because the rater feels it combined with certain other disabilities causes a much higher overall disability rating than is normally shown. And they DO do this... I have seen it several times. It's just not really common.

So as we can see it becomes progressively harder to get 70, 80 thru 100% ratings. Oddly enough the LARGEST gaps in payment come between 70-100% 100% is almost DOUBLE what 70% is, look at the rating tables yourself and see. I am not sure of any good reason for this, though I am sure the VA has one.... it just seems really convenient for the VA to have the higher payments, with the biggest jumps in the hardest catagories to get to.....

I am going to catch some flack for that opinion from others outside this board, but... there you go, its what I think. Personally I dont understand why the compensation just doesnt go up 10% each 10% in rating... so each 10% would be $240 or so... but thats not the way its done, and it is strangely convienient for the government, since they dont have to pay out nearly as much...

Anyway, thats why some vets have almost 100% in various ratings, but are RATED at 60% or so....

OK.. I hope this helps.

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Ricky gave a good asessment of why the system is like it is. Even if say a veteran is 80% disabled, he/she may still be able to work full time and collect a full pay check every month. So let's say a 80% disabled veteran is able to earn $1500.00 (take home pay) a month at a full time position on top of the 80% disability, the veteran would have a monthly income of about $2800.00 (without dependents), which is actually amounts to more than the 100% disability from VA.

Granted, this is purely speculative on what type of job and income that individual person is able to earn, as some 70%, 80%, or 90% disabled veterans are only able to earn a couple of hundred dollar extra in a part-time job to supplement their VA disability. However, on the average in the grand picture of eveything these veterans are able to earn a decent income to supplement their disability. Keep in mind this is also why IU is available if this isn't the case. Social Security disability must also be factored into this too.

Vike 17

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Kia - Welcome to Hadit the greatest veterans site on the net. Have you re-applied for I/U since your new rating? I would do so as you may get it this time (just my opinion). Keep up the fight and if you are 100 percent disabled you will win. It just takes a little time. At what point are you in the SSDI claim? As you know and from reading post on this issue it also takes time to come to light. Hang in there and visit Hadit on a regular basis. Ther are some true experts on here such a Six, Berta, Pete, Vike ect.......... They along with the experiences of other veterans on this site will be a great asset to you while processing both VA and SSDI claims.

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