How to Find Your VA Disability Rating

By Terry Smith

If you've been disabled while on active military duty, you're entitled to a disability rating from the Veterans Administration and possibly compensation. Only the VA can tell you what your rating is, however, so to find it out, you'll need to file a claim with the agency. After rating your injuries in accordance with VA disability rules, it will assign you a rating and advise you what it is. The VA will also advise you as to any compensation to which you'll be entitled.

Ensure that you have your discharge physical about six months before leaving the service. Your military physician should note any injuries or disabilities you have in your service medical record, but point out any you know of to help document your physical condition at the time you detach from the service.

Schedule a meeting with a VA representative after you've had your discharge physical. Make two copies of your medical record and bring one of them to the meeting for him to review. The VA representative will go over your medical record, advise you of conditions that may possibly merit disability ratings and tell you how and where to file your initial claim.

File your initial claim with the VA after leaving the service and include all the conditions highlighted by the VA representative, requesting the VA look at them for possible disability rating. Also forward one copy of your service medical record with your claim, keeping the other for your own records.

Engage an individual or organization that understands how to process VA disability claims to represent you, such as the Disabled American Veterans. Your representative should be willing and able to attend the VA's hearings on your case, either with you there or not. Your nearest VA center could be a great distance and you may not be able to attend all your hearings. On such occasions, you need to have a representative attend for you. The DAV can appear on your behalf if you don't have anyone else.

Respond to VA correspondence related to your claim as soon as you can. Once the VA has released your initial rating, you have a year to rebut its findings if you're not satisfied with the result, but the more quickly you respond, the sooner your case can enter the case queue for re-evaluation. The VA case queue can be very large. The same goes for any correspondence you receive from the VA concerning questions that arise related to your case, for which you'll get 60 days to respond. Get back to the VA as quickly as you can, because the sooner you do, the sooner it can finish evaluating you.

Track the progress of your claim by visiting the nearest VA office to get status in person or by calling the VA customer hotline at 800-827-1000.

If you become aware of a service-related disability after your discharge, you can still file a disability claim later. Contact your local VA office or call the customer hotline to request forms and instructions.

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