When service members are injured, the repercussions might affect his or her ability to work once they finish their service. When trying to claim benefits for multiple disabilities, Veterans can run into the issue of VA Pyramiding. It is important to understand what pyramiding is and how to avoid it so you can get approved for benefits.
VA Pyramiding is when you state the same disability or symptom more than once to try and earn extra compensation. This is banned by federal law as you are not allowed to receive multiple forms of compensation for the same disability.
For example, a Veteran might experience major depressive disorder as a result of their service and cite severe depression and fatigue, demonstrating that the depression has led to a huge lack of energy and increased tiredness. If that Veteran tries to submit a second claim for the fatigue, citing that it is a distinct condition and not just a symptom from the depression, it may be seen as an overlap with the first claim they submitted. This would be considered VA Pyramiding.
Since this action is forbidden, it is important to understand what is considered pyramiding and when you can receive compensation for symptoms that are shared between multiple disabilities. Make sure you are educated when filing a claim and contact an attorney today to guide you through the process.
When Veterans are experiencing multiple disabilities, the VA will often combine your disability rating for all your conditions. This does not mean that if one disability has a rating of 70% and another one has a rating of 20% that you will have a combined 90% rating. They use a complicated formula to determine a combined disability rating after considering your current condition and the status of your symptoms. We have a VA benefits calculator that also helps explain this unique formula.
If you have multiple disabilities with similar symptoms, you should submit separate claims for each disability to avoid being considered for pyramiding. Based on the disability rankings of each disability, you should put as many symptoms as you can towards the one with the higher disability ranking. This will help you maximize your amount of disability compensation.
When looking into your disabilities and the symptoms associated, it is important to fill out your application avoiding claims for pyramiding. Here are some common pyramiding examples to be aware of:
If experiencing multiple symptoms described on this list, ensure that each claim addresses symptoms that are distinct and separate from one another when filling out your application. You should provide medical evidence to prove that the conditions you are listing are different and separate from each other.
Avoiding pyramiding is an important step in receiving the VA disability benefits that you are entitled to. If you have multiple disabilities and want to ensure that the symptoms are listed in the correct way, contact an attorney today to discuss the unique factors of your case. The right legal firm can make sure that pyramiding does not affect your overall disability rating.