VA Compensation for PTSD

As with other service-related injuries and diseases, the VA will pay eligible veterans monthly compensation for disability resulting from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For a veteran rated at 10, 30, 50, 70 or 100 percent disabled, compensation payments can range from a few dollars to several thousand dollars a month — depending on the severity of your condition.

To receive VA compensation for PTSD there are two items of evidence that must exist and that must be provided to the VA. One without the other is worthless in establishing your claim to VA compensation for PTSD.

Stressor: Proof of a traumatic event in-service. Called a “stressor,” it is the basis on which all PTSD claims are based. In short, no stressor, no claim, end of story. A stressor is generally defined as personal exposure to a life-threatening event such as combat, a serious accident, or rape. For those who hold a combat-related decoration such as an individual valor award, the Purple Heart, or the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the issue of a stressor is conceded by the VA.

Diagnosis: A diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder rendered by a psychiatrist. Counseling reports prepared by Vet Centers may be considered in determining the degree of your impairment; however, there must be a diagnosis of PTSD made by a physician specialized in psychiatry.

Like Vietnam, Afghanistan and especially Iraq have no “front line.” Even the most secure places are subject to suicide attacks, mortars, rockets, and sniper fire. Likewise, the simple movement of supplies and troops present an ever-present danger. Being able to prove your presence in a combat situation is crucial in establishing a claim for compensation based on PTSD. Also, detailed information about trauma that you have experienced can be invaluable to those who seek to treat or diagnose your condition.

Get help! PTSD claims are not a do-it-yourself endeavor. It is important that your claim be prepared as well as possible. If improperly prepared or documented, your claim is likely to fail. Depending on why it failed, your claim may damage your ability to successfully appeal a bad decision or to win approval in a subsequent claim. A claim that has been filed incorrectly is as useless to you and your family as a claim that was never filed.

If you have PTSD, your disability may make it unlikely that you can weather the frustration of dealing with the VA and objectively respond to its requests for information. A claim that has been abandoned by a frustrated veteran is as useless to him and his family as a claim that was never filed.

The various veterans organizations provide free claims assistance, as do state governments and local county service officers. See the Helpful Links section of this website for links to veterans claims service providers.

The quality of the service available out there ranges from terrible to excellent. Try to find a person to help you who is familiar with PTSD and has handled successful claims for compensation for PTSD. If he or she doesn’t know, at a minimum, most of the information contained in this website, he or she will be of little help to you.

Selecting a representative to help you with your VA claim is the second most important thing you can do after deciding to seek treatment for your PTSD. However, before doing so, you need to have the details of your case readily available. Detailed information about the who, what, where, and when of combat-related events is vital to the successful preparation of your compensation claim.

To help you, and to help your claims representative, we have provided you with a PTSD worksheet in a separate section of this website. Print it and complete it honestly and fully to help you and your claims representative assemble the best possible claim.

Complete the worksheet and file it away even if you do not believe you have PTSD at this time. Believe me, memories of the people, places, and events so fresh in your mind today will fade. As the years pass, your mind will instinctively try to erase traumatic events from your consciousness. For treatment or compensation purposes you may need to have the information on the worksheet available to you in the years to come.