A service member can experience traumatic injuries, physical wear and tear, and degenerative conditions that lead to chronic pain after they leave the service. In certain circumstances, veterans may seek VA disability benefits for chronic pain. However, veterans who file claims may receive a lower rating than they expected. Before a veteran files a VA benefits claim for a condition that causes chronic pain, they should understand how the VA disability benefits program can misjudge chronic pain and the effect it has on a veteran’s life.
How the VA Rating System Works
The VA determines disability compensation amounts based on the disability rating assigned to a veteran’s service-connected condition. Each condition recognized by the VA has various diagnostic criteria, listed in the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD), that correspond to a specific disability rating. Disability ratings range from 0 to 100, expressed as some multiple of 10. The more severe a veteran’s symptoms, the higher the disability rating assigned to their condition. For veterans with two or more conditions, the VASRD has a chart that claims reviewers use to determine the veteran’s combined disability rating. Although the diagnostic criteria in the VASRD can accurately assess the severity of specific, stable health conditions, they sometimes fail to capture the nature of a veteran’s chronic pain.
What the System Gets Wrong
Some of the limitations of the VA’s disability ratings for chronic pain include:
- Chronic pain can have variable symptoms: The severity of chronic pain can vary from day to day, meaning that discrete examinations can fail to capture the nature of a veteran’s condition accurately.
- Chronic pain often involves subjective evidence: Medical science has few objective tests to measure chronic pain. Doctors instead rely on patients’ subjective complaints, but some may view such complaints skeptically, believing that a veteran has exaggerated the severity of their pain.
- Examiners may underweight the functional effects of chronic pain: VA examiners may focus on how a veteran’s chronic pain affects their physical capacity without considering or undervaluing the effects on the veteran’s mental health and ability to function in work or personal environments.
- Chronic pain can cause other comorbidities: Chronic pain can lead to other debilitating conditions like insomnia or depression. However, the VA may not recognize those conditions in a veteran or may not connect them to a veteran’s service-connected chronic pain, potentially undervaluing the veteran’s overall disability rating.
Veterans Most Affected by Rating Issues for Chronic Pain
Certain categories of veterans may face a more challenging process of obtaining an accurate rating for chronic pain and maximum disability benefits. Examples of veterans who most frequently face issues rating chronic pain include:
- Veterans suffering from chronic pain due to conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, or repetitive stress injuries, as opposed to traumatic musculoskeletal or nerve injuries
- Veterans lacking an established medical record documenting chronic pain
- Younger veterans who may downplay or “push through” chronic pain symptoms
Contact Our VA Disability Benefits Lawyers for Help with Your Chronic Pain Claim
Injuries or other conditions that you developed during your military service may cause you to suffer ongoing, debilitating pain. As a result, you may have a claim to disability benefits from the VA. Even when you receive a disability benefits decision that you believe has undervalued the severity of your condition, you can pursue administrative appeals and other legal options to secure the benefits you deserve. Contact Kinman Law Office today for a free consultation with a VA disability attorney for help pursuing monthly compensation and benefits for a service-connected condition that causes you chronic pain.
