Getting the Right VA Disability Rating for Autoimmune Disease

How to Link Military Service Experiences to Autoimmune Disorders

Getting veterans’ disability benefits (VA benefits) for autoimmune diseases can be difficult because you have to demonstrate that your condition is service-related.

Unlike a missing limb or PTSD, it can be tricky to establish the cause of an autoimmune disease. Researchers have developed many theories, each supported by some evidence, but they have not established definitive causes.

Here are two ways to establish the links you need to get benefits:

1) Tying your autoimmune disease to another, more easily recognized condition

If the VA denied your disability claim, saying your autoimmune disorder was not service-related, you might be able to submit a new claim that links your autoimmune disorder to a disability that was proven to be service-related, such as PTSD.

In 2015, results of a study of more than 666,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan showed that veterans with PTSD are twice as likely to have an autoimmune disease. If you are among those veterans, you may also have Gulf War-related impairments, such as exposure to burn pits.

More studies continue to reinforce these connections. While the studies don’t directly prove that your autoimmune disorder was caused by your military service, the VA only needs to see a 50 percent probability that your disease is service-related.

2) Showing how the timing of certain autoimmune disorders connect to your service

Another way to qualify for veterans’ disability benefits for some autoimmune diseases is to show close timing of your military service and the onset of your condition.

If you develop lupus severe enough to qualify for benefits within a year of your military discharge, for example, the VA may conclude that your impairment is “presumptively” service-connected—and award you benefits.

With multiple sclerosis, you have seven years to show that presumptive service connection.

You may have a lot of questions about what all of this means for you.

The VA disability attorneys at HNB know all the rules, links, exceptions and options to get you the support that your country owes you.

Contact Us Today!

Veterans’ Disability Ratings and Autoimmune Diseases

Once your service-connected condition is established, the VA then assigns you a disability rating based on the severity level of your condition.

They use that rating to determine how much disability compensation you’ll receive each month. For example, if you have lupus, you are considered to have:

• 100 percent disability if your condition is acute, with frequent exacerbations, producing severe impairment of health
• 60 percent disability if your exacerbations last a week or more, 2 or 3 times per year
• 10 percent disability if exacerbations occur 1-2 times a year or if you have been symptomatic once during the past 2 years

Every condition is assessed in its own way.

If you disagree with your VA disability rating, you can file an appeal. You’ll need to do this within one year of receiving your decision notice.

VA ratings are confusing, and you’ve got other things to do besides trying to navigate the veterans’ disability system.

HNB’s veterans’ disability attorneys handle the process, so you can move forward with your life.

Call Us Now!