VA Compensation for Chronic Adjustment Disorder—Everything You Need To Know
If the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denied your claim for chronic adjustment disorder veterans’ benefits, you have the right to appeal that decision.
A VA disability lawyer can help. Call today for a free case evaluation and to find out more: (888) 392-5392.
Getting VA Disability Benefits for Chronic Adjustment Disorder
Chronic adjustment disorder, similar to acute stress reaction, occurs because of stressful or traumatic life events, and these events often happen to military personnel. For that reason, VA offers disability benefits to veterans who have had experiences in the service that triggered an adjustment disorder.
The condition is characterized by an inability to adjust to or recover from stressful or difficult circumstances. If you have not been diagnosed with the condition but have experienced any of the following symptoms following a stressful or traumatic military event, it may be a good idea to get a psychological exam and determine if you have chronic adjustment disorder:
- Sadness, hopelessness or lack of enjoyment of life
- Frequent crying
- A constant worrying, nervous, or jittery feeling
- Sleep difficulties
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Difficulty carrying out daily activities
- Withdrawing from friends, family, and social support networks
- Falling behind on important tasks, such as work and paying bills
- Suicidal thoughts or behavior
Count on a VA Disability Lawyer
For your appeal to be successful, it needs to prove three things:
- You have been diagnosed with chronic adjustment disorder.
- You suffered a specific event during your military service that was traumatic or highly stressful or that your symptoms began during service.
- There is a medical “nexus” (a connection) between the event/onset and your diagnosis.
A Diagnosis of Chronic Adjustment Disorder
You must first show that a doctor diagnosed you with chronic adjustment disorder. A lawyer can review your medical records in search of evidence that you are suffering from a chronic adjustment disorder.
A Specific Event During Your Military Service
A lawyer can review your military records to identify the specific event in your service most likely to have triggered your current condition or identify where in your service records there is evidence that your condition started while you were serving.
A Nexus Between the Two
Lastly, your appeal must show clear evidence of a cause-and-effect link, or nexus, between the event and your diagnosis. This is often-times the trickiest part of a case and although a lawyer cannot write a medical nexus opinion for you, sometimes your treating medical providers are willing to help and sometimes it is deemed appropriate to send your case to an expert.
To get started building your appeal, call (888) 392-5392.
The VA Disability Compensation Scale for Chronic Adjustment Disorder
Your VA disability compensation level depends on your VA impairment rating. The VA assigns this rating, which can range from 0% to 100%, based on how severe it believes your condition is. It rates chronic adjustment disorder as a psychological condition using the following schedule of ratings:
- 100% Impairment Rating: “Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.”
- 70% Impairment Rating: “Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities; speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately and effectively; impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence); spatial disorientation; neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a work-like setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. “
- 50% Impairment Rating: “Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships.”
- 30% Impairment Rating: “Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events).”
- 10% Impairment Rating: “Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms that decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress; or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.”
- 0% Impairment Rating: “A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.”
The monthly disability compensation for each rating as of December 2019 for a single veteran with no dependents is:
- 0% disability rating: $0 per month
- 10% disability rating: $142.29 per month
- 30% disability rating: $435.69 per month
- 50% disability rating: $893.43 per month
- 70% disability rating: $1,426.17 per month
- 100% disability rating: $3,106.04 per month
For a Free VA Disability Consultation, Call (888) 392-5392
You do not need to handle the appeals process alone. A veterans’ disability law firm is here to help. Call (888) 392-5392 for a free case evaluation.
