How to increase the % rating of an existing benefit.  

This one is pretty simple. You just ask VA for what you want. It really is that easy.

Increasing the % rating of a benefit that you have held for over one year is straightforward.

You write a letter to the VA regional office that holds your file and tell them specifically what you're asking for.

Before you do that, have a close look at the Schedule For Rating Disabilities. Find the condition that you believe should be awarded at a higher %. Study the reasons that higher %'s are rated. Match your condition and symptoms and if you are eligible, tell the VA in the letter.

This is NOT an appeal. This is a request for a new rating. An appeal occurs during the one year period after an award is made. Any rating activity after that is a request for a new rating.

It Can Be Done: Suing The Veterans Administration
Jeffrey A. Milman, Esq. Founding Partner at Hodes-Milman-Lieback

Raising the % of a recently awarded benefit is an appeal.

If you have a favorable rating decision but the award of the % seems low to you, you must appeal the rating. Some advocates call this "reconsideration". This should occur soon after you receive the award letter that tells you of the benefit that you believe is rated too low.

We at VAWatchdog don't use the term "reconsideration". Asking for reconsideration sends your claim back to the same people who made the earlier decision. VAWatchdog recommends a DRO appeal so that your request is sent to a higher rating authority.   

The process and logic is much the same as when you seek any rating from VA. You must be specific in the request. If you are currently rated at 20% and you believe that you should be rated at 40%, you should tell VA that in your letter.

You must always look to the Schedule For Rating Disabilities to match your condition to the listing there.

Raising the % of a benefit that you have held for over one year is not an appeal.

If you have held a rating for more than a year and you feel that the condition has gotten measurably worse, you should apply for a higher rating. This is an application for a new benefit.

You must always look to the Schedule For Rating Disabilities to match your condition to the listing there.

Risks & Rewards 

Any time you ask VA to open your file, there is risk. VA will always look at the open file and seek a way to lower existing benefits.

You must evaluate if the risk is worth the potential reward. This is commonly called a risk/benefit analysis.

The risk is real. You must confirm to your own satisfaction that you are deserving of an increased rating.

Are you sure you can justify the increase? If not, go back and do your homework before you file.

The Letter Template

All VA claims may be initiated with a simple letter. In some cases, VA may respond with a required form. However, for your requests to increase an existing benefit, a brief, simple letter is all that you need.

It's important to remember to keep your communication brief. You must use certified mail, RRR to deliver the letter.



DATE

VIA Certified Mail, RRR

VARO Address

Reference (Your Name, SSN and any reference numbers on the award [denial] letter)

Dear Sir/Madame;

I am currently rated as follows:

(HERE YOU WILL ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THE RATING YOU WISH TO INCREASE.)

I believe that the current rating is not appropriate as my condition has worsened over time.

Specifically, my condition is now (HERE YOU DESCRIBE THE DETAILS OF HOW YOUR CONDITION HAS WORSENED.)

I believe that my rating should be increased to (HERE YOU TELL VA THE RATING YOU DESERVE.)

(HERE YOU MAY ADD BRIEF ADDITIONAL DETAILS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THIS CLAIM.)

Thank you for your kind consideration of this request.


Respectfully,

YOUR NAME
ADDRESS
Etc.





As you can see, you must keep the letter brief and specific. Do not ramble on about things that are not immediately relevant to the claim.

Always be respectful in communicating with VA. There are real people who will read your letter and you must convince them to help you. If you are aggressive, derogatory and try to personalize the issue, your file may get lost.

The above letter is for a request to increase an existing benefit. Appeals must be handled differently.

Can VA lower my rating?

Mr. Jim,

How can they do this to me? VA knows I can't work. They gave me the 100% TDIU rating in 2009 and now I get a letter telling me that they are reducing all my ratings by 1/2 and they are taking the TDIU rating from me. Christmas is coming soon and I have child support to pay. I don't know how I can survive if VA does this to me. Can you help me? My VSO isn't very interested in doing anything for me.

Reply;

We had to exchange emails for a week or so to get all the answers from you. As it turns out, you set yourself up for this occurrence.

We learned that it was about a year ago that the VA regional office where your claim folder was held sent you a letter to notify you that you were scheduled for a C & P exam. Your 100% TDIU rating was temporary and it was clearly noted on the award letter that future exams were scheduled. You claim TBI and PTSD from your honorable service as an OEF/OIF soldier. Your medical records are clear that you were rendered unconscious during an attack by a car bomb.

You have a well grounded claim. VA assigned the appropriate benefit for the severity of your condition. It's the usual process that VA will assign a temporary rating for a young veteran like you. The thought process is that it is very likely that you will experience improvement in your condition with time. You told me that you're now in a well defined treatment program and making progress.

However, for reasons you haven't clearly defined, you left your region and moved at least 3 times in the last 2 years. You didn't consider changing your address with VA for about a year. When you did finally change the address with VA your records were transferred to a new VARO but you left and returned to the original region where you started.

None of this caught up to you until 3 months ago. Just prior to that you notified your original VA regional office of the latest change of address and you received a letter telling you that VA had made the decision to reduce your benefits as well as to take away the TDIU status. You waited 10 weeks to notify me and ask for help. This left us with about 10 days before the lowered benefit was to go into effect.

To answer your original question, yes...VA can and will reduce any benefit for cause. There are abundant rumors all over the Internet and in every waiting room that many ratings are somehow protected and that VA can't touch them. None of those rumors are true. Ratings of 100% disabled don't become protected for 20 years and then only if the rating was P & T with no interruption during those 2 decades.

You missed a C & P exam. VA tried to notify you but you didn't get the message. You didn't get the message because you didn't bother to arrange forwarding of your mail and you didn't notify VA that you were changing your address. Ultimately, when you did get the message that this was happening, you didn't follow any particular process but instead, you called the VA toll free number. You don't recall just when you did that or what the outcome was.

To try to correct this problem, I've helped you to write a letter and appeal the decision. I doubt that it will have any effect at this late date. It will begin a process that may eventually see you getting the 100% TDIU benefit again but it may take a year or two.

While I understand and the VA understands that your life may be challenging because of your service connected conditions, that doesn't provide you with an excuse to ignore your obligations. Your rating of 100% TDIU didn't indicate that you are incompetent. Your messages to me are clear and well written so you're seemingly able to understand and communicate when necessary.

Once we veterans sign on with VA to take advantage of the benefits we earned, we make a sort of pact with them. We expect that VA will do their part and we'll do ours.

All too often, VA fails us. They lose paperwork, the backlog is a national embarrassment, and errors in decisions are plentiful. None of that gives any veteran reason to be as sloppy with their affairs as the VA can be. As I looked over your historical paperwork that you faxed to me, yours is one of the cases where VA had done a good job and you had precisely the benefits and opportunities you had earned.

By not holding up your end of the bargain, you threw it all away.

VA isn't responsible for this malfunction, you are. VA isn't a babysitter. If you don't take your responsibility seriously, VA will not go to extraordinary lengths to take care of you. If you miss a C & P exam, if you don't send in your 4140 form, if you decline the health care (both physical and mental) that VA offers you, if you try to take shortcuts or somehow game the system, VA will reduce your benefit.

I predict that you'll get your benefit back. It will take a year or two. You won't get any retro pay for the time you're missing now. This is a steep price to pay because you didn't want to play the game.

This will serve as a warning to all vets...VA sometimes gets it right. It's up to you to do your part. If you don't, the end result is painful.