VietNow National Magazine

Understanding VA Combined Evaluations
Dust off your old arithmetic books, dig out the slide rules, and put new batteries in your calculator. If you're into numbers, you're going to love finding out about the way the VA figures combined disabilities.

By Raymond F. Gustavson, Jr.

Understanding how the VA arrives at the combined evaluation of your service-connected disabilities can be a difficult and confusing process. On a simple level, you could combine three disabilities rated at 10 percent each for a total of 30 percent. However, that is not the correct way to do it.

The correct procedure is to use the Combined Ratings Table found in 38 CFR 4.25 – (do a Google search). On a technical note: If an actual combined evaluation ends with a fraction that equals or exceeds 0.5, round up to the nearest degree. If a whole number ends with a digit that equals or exceeds five, then round up to the nearest number divisible by 10. Otherwise, round the combined evaluation down to the nearest number divisible by 10. Example: A combined evaluation of 54.5 percent should be raised to 55 percent, and then adjusted upward to 60 percent.

Using the Combined Ratings Table, 10 combined with 10 is 19, and then 19 plus 10 equals 27, which is rounded up to 30.

But when you have multiple disabilities, and each one is rated differently, things get complicated. As an example, to find the combined evaluation for a 30 percent disability and a 20 percent disability: Find the 30 percent disability from the left side of the table, and move your finger across the page until you reach 20 percent. The combined evalua­tion is 44 percent, which must be converted to the nearest degree divisible by 10, which is 40 percent. I did this, and the correct evaluation is 40 percent.

Here's another example: If you have one disability rated 50 percent and another at 30 percent, the correct combined evaluation, according to the combined ratings table is 70 percent, not 80 percent.

I found a complicated decision dated April 15, 2009, on the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) web site. The veteran had service connection for the following five disabilities: Pleural cavity injury: 40 percent. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): 30 percent. Radicu­lopathy of the cervical spine: 20 percent. De­generative changes of the thoracic spine: 20 percent. Hearing loss: 10 percent.

The BVA determined that the 40 percent rating assigned for the veteran's pleural cavity injury, combined with the 30 percent rating assigned for PTSD, resulted in a 58 percent rating. This 58 percent rating was then combined with the 20 percent rating for radiculopathy of the cervical spine, resulting in a 66 percent rating.

The 66 percent rating was then combined with the 20 percent rating for degenerative changes of the thoracic spine, resulting in a 73 percent rating. The 73 percent rating was combined with the 10 percent rating for hearing loss resulting in a 76 percent rating.

Finally, the 76 percent rating was adjusted upward to the nearest degree divisible by 10, which was 80 percent.

Note: The 76 percent rating, which is adjusted upward, is the last step in determining the combined degree of disability under 38 CFR 4.25, and is to be done only once per rating.

Also of note, if you have any non-service-connected disabilities, these are not used in the process of combining your service-connected disabilities.

Believe me when I say that these calculations are correct, because not only is there a Combined Ratings Table in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), but there is also a VA computer program that ensures your combined evaluation will be computed correctly.

Of course, if you have any doubts, contact the VA or your service representative (American Legion, VFW, Paralyzed Veterans of America, etc.) and ask that the evaluation be checked. No harm will be done, and you will sleep better at night.

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