Although calculating your Veteran disability rating is straightforward if you only have one disability, it gets very confusing if you try to follow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) logic for multiple ratings. That is why our law firm created a VA Disability Calculator to help you check what your benefit payments should be each month. The calculator is easy to use. We have done the math for you so you can be confident you are getting an accurate estimate.
Instead of adding real, whole numbers that represent your percentage of disability, the VA has created an equation that figures out percentages of percentages to reach your rating. It also disfavors Veterans reaching a higher rating once they get to about 50 percent. If you need to calculate your VA disability rating, and potential benefits, our online calculator is a valuable planning tool.
Our online calculator allows you to answer simple questions, and the answers accrue into what your disability payment should be. For instance, you will be asked your marital status and the disability percentage rating the VA has assigned to each injury or illness. You must also disclose the number of dependents you have who are minors through age 23, and if your parents are included. If you can prove that you cannot work, you can disclose that and potentially be eligible for a 100 percent rating.
Using the calculator does not mean the VA will automatically adjust your benefits. There are other factors involved that may require an approved VA-disability claims lawyer to intercede and fight for you. We have made it easier to at least get an idea of what your benefits should be through the calculator.
You do not have to do any math, but you may be interested in the VA’s math. The VA will provide you with a chart and a laundry list of rules and exceptions. The problem is, the VA does not use that exact chart. It uses what employees call the Combinator.
The VA begins by allocating a percentage of the Veteran as “disabled” and a percentage as “healthy.” If you are 40 percent disabled for your first disability, then that means you are 60 percent healthy.
But if you have another disability to calculate, that second disability is not applied to a 100 percent healthy individual. Even though all disability ratings are assessed separately, your starting point for “healthy” is now 60 percent.
Continuing from the example above, if you are 10 percent disabled for your second rating, it is calculated as 10 percent of your “60 percent healthy” rating, instead of 10 percent of 100 percent healthy. 10 percent of 60 percent is 6 percent – so your disability rating for just the second disability is 6 percent – and your overall disability rating is 46 percent, which rounds up to 50.
Thus, each new disability rating after the first is going to have a smaller and smaller impact on your overall rating.
We hope you find our online Veterans’ Disability Calculator easy to use and that it gives you a clearer picture of your potential benefits. If you have questions, concerns, or need help, contact our Veterans’ disability lawyers now.
