Question: When does 60 + 40 + 20 = 80? Answer: When VA uses its “fuzzy math” from the combined disability rating table to calculate the percentage of disability to award Veterans who have two or more qualifying, compensable disabilities.
Veterans with more than one claimed disability who are not aware of this procedure—and I have found that most are not, unless they’ve had previous dealings with the VA disability claim system—can be shocked, angered, and quite disappointed when they receive their final rating once their disability claim is approved. Let me give you an example of how ratings from the combined ratings table work.
Let’s suppose that a Veteran is awarded a 60% disability rating for one covered condition, a 40% rating for a second condition, and then a 20% rating for a third condition. What TOTAL disability rating is the veteran then likely to expect? 120%, correct? Well, not exactly, and here is the principal reason why:
- The MAXIMUM “scheduler” rating (i.e., a rating based upon the VA Schedule of Rating Disabilities) that can be awarded under most circumstances is 100%.*
So, if in the example above, the Veteran doesn’t qualify for a rating of 120%, then what rating does he or she qualify for? Actually, when the VA applies its Combined Ratings Table the final rating equals 80%. Here is the rationale behind this rating:
- If a Veteran is assigned a 60% disability rating, it is assumed that he or she remains 40% non-disabled.
- If this same Veteran also carries an additional 40% disability rating, then the remaining 40% from the first disability (i.e., the 60% disability rating) is eliminated and the tentative rating increases to 100%. But there’s more!
- The third disability rating of 20% is then, ostensibly, subtracted from the tentative 100% rating, resulting in a final overall disability rating of 80%.
Make sense? Of course it doesn’t, not when calculated in this manner. Perhaps a better way of understanding this confusing rating approach is to use the analogy of a 10 ounce glass of water.
- We begin by pouring out 60% of the water in the glass (six ounces), leaving four ounces in the glass, or 40% of the volume of water we started with.
- Then, we pour out 40% of the water remaining in the glass (four ounces), leaving 2.4 ounces.
- Finally, we pour out 20% of the water remaining in the glass (2.4 ounces), leaving 2.08 ounces, or about 20% of the total volume we started with.
While you might not agree with the efficacy (or sense) of the approach used to calculate multiple disability ratings, at least this example makes the approach somewhat easier to understand and somewhat easier to swallow.
If you go to this link, Combined Ratings Table, you’ll notice that the Combined Rating Table is set up as a matrix, with an x-axis (the horizontal axis) and a y-axis (the vertical axis). The x-axis is in increments of 10, ranging from 10 to 90. The y-axis is single digits, ranging from 19 to 94. (Don’t ask me why there is such a strange measurement configuration.) VA calculates combined ratings two at a time, e.g., 60% and 40% first in our example in this article, resulting in a combined rating of 76, which, when rounded to the nearest 10, becomes 80. Then, the 80 is aligned with 20 in the matrix, resulting in 84, which, when rounded to the nearest 10 becomes—you guessed it!—a combined disability rating of 80%.
One other important consideration: Not every award over and above an initial award will result in increased disability compensation. Take our example in this article, where our Veteran with three compensable disabilities was awarded a combined rating of 80%. If he or she were to receive an award for an additional disability rated as, say, 20%, his or her combined rating would remain 80%, again, because of the VA’s “fuzzy” math!
Make no mistake about it, the VA Disability System is a very complex, often quite confusing system. And, as you undoubtedly discovered early on in your military service, forewarned is always forearmed! If you are contemplating making a disability claim, I strongly encourage you to do your homework first! With the current claim backlog facing the VA, it can take up to a year (or longer!) to get a claim resolved, depending upon the Veteran’s unique claim, current backlog at the VA regional office where you will file your claim, etc., so getting it right the first time is quite important. A good place to start your preparation is at this link: 38 C.F.R. § 4.25 (the guidelines the VA uses to determine a Veteran’s eligibility for being compensated, as well as how it calculates the ultimate amount of monthly compensation, if awarded).
To access a FREE online calculator for multiple disabilities, go to this link:
http://www.vvaarizona.org/combined_disability.php#value
Good luck, and on behalf of a very grateful nation, let me personally thank you for your service to our country.
* VA may assign extra-schedular ratings or special monthly compensation, which are benefits generally beyond those permitted by the Schedule, but this relatively uncommon and certainly beyond the scope of this article.