How on earth does the military determine a % of disability?

[Captain Angry]

My brother just found out (6 months after he left the Army) that he's considered 50% disabled due to PTSD and a shoulder injury he sustained.

So he'll get a little cash every month now for that.

Where does 30% PTSD, 20% shoulder come from? Just wondering if anybody has more information on how this works.

I'm just glad he's ok, and that they're acknowledging what he went through.

[lapfog_1]

1. usually calculated on the assessment of doctors and psychiatrists

evaluation of the ability of the disabled soldier to return to some sort of normal civilian life (usually work).

My niece's father just went from 50% disabled to 80% disabled due in large degree to his PTSD. It took over 5 years of appeals and letters to his congressperson and US Senators to get that increase. He cannot be around other people, especially strangers, for any length of time, has constant thoughts of suicide, and, routinely goes on perimeter patrol around our rural property at night (fully armed). He cannot sleep, is on three or four different medications, and sees VA doctors at least once a week (but cannot stand to be in a waiting room).

Keep having your loved one evaluated and never give up on the appeals process.

[JennyMominRI]

2. It depends on the disease or illness

Is he rated by the military or by the VA
I'm rated 100% by both..

The rating are looked at very specifically by illness or injury. Type CFR 38 into the search and it will tell you how each specific injury is rated.. If his condition changes they will reevaluate his *rating*..I started at 30 % moved up to 60% and am now at 100%

If you have any specific questions I may be able to help

[JennyMominRI]

3. Here is the actual ratings table from CFR 38

38 C.F.R. § 4.130, DC 9411
General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders:

Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought process 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 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%

[Captain Angry]

4. He fits that 30% well.

He tried driving for a milk company, but the drive was too much like his convoy protection role in Iraq, and he had to quit.

He's doing something far better for him now, but it doesn't pay well. Once he's settled in, and out of under the bills he incurred by not being able to find work in this incredible economy of ours, he can try to move into something better.

[UTUSN]

5. I know somebody who went from zero to 70%. It took seven years.

He was denied for seven years of appeals. When he got a lawyer, they miraculously discovered he was at a 70% disability level.