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  • Belleville Office

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    175 Second Street
    Belleville, Michigan 48111

Understanding PTSD and Disability Benefits

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very real mental health condition that is triggered by events and circumstances common in military service. PTSD is a common wound of war and while it may not be as recognizable to some as a physical wound, it can be just as debilitating as any other injury or condition. Some symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety, there are many more symptoms of PTSD. Soldiers have experienced PTSD as long as war has been a reality of life.

PTSD has been referred to as shell shock, battle fatigue, or combat stress. Whatever you call it, the affects of PTSD are real and significant. PTSD affects the quality of a person's life mentally and physically. Men and women who have served in the military and experienced stressful events may be susceptible to PTSD.

If you or a loved one are suffering from PTSD, Viterna Law can help you obtain health benefits and the disability compensation you deserve.


Other Mental Health Disabilities

Other mental health conditions may be related to military service if a link between the current disability and service can be established.  Some conditions, like schizophrenia, may first manifest in service but are mischaracterized simply as bad behavior warranting discipline.  Sometimes service members receive less than honorable discharges that preclude receipt of VA benefits.  Many Veterans have been denied benefits because they did not have the proper assistance to make a claim succeed.  A skilled advocate can help you overcome a less than honorable discharge so you can receive the VA benefits you are entitled to.

VA General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

Mental health disabilities are rated based upon the severity of the symptoms experienced as noted in the rating schedule that follows:


Symptoms          

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.

100%

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 worklike setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.

70%

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.

50%

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).

30%

Occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.

10%

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.

0%

38 C.F.R. §4.130

For a free, no obligation consultation, please call us at 1-800-971-4109 or contact us online.