When it comes to VA disability compensation, the goal for most veterans is getting a 100% rating. The road to a 100% rating can be long and confusing. There are also different ways to get this rating. Below we will discuss the different types of 100% disability ratings.
Total disability based on 100 % scheduler rating. This is when a veteran’s single service-connected disability or alternatively, the veteran’s combined service-connected disabilities total to 100 %.
Individual Unemployability:
Better known as IU, it is a rating that is more complicated than just a regular 100% scheduler rating. A schedular rating is when the veteran’s ratings combine to 100%. A veteran can claim IU when he is unable to maintain substantially gainful employment because his service-connected disability. Substantially gainful employment is a VA term for not being able to work. VA looks at what the veteran earns. If the veteran makes less than the poverty level then VA considers that the veteran cannot work. Alternatively, VA considers if the veteran is in a sheltered employment. This kind of job is where a veteran works for a family member or friend. It can also be where a boss gives a veteran breaks that he may not give others.
To qualify for IU, there is a complicated formula. Essentially, the veteran must have one disability rated at 60 % or at least 70% combined disabilities. VA will not award a 100% rating simply because the veteran met the initial criteria for IU. A veteran must provide evidence showing he is unable to work in both a physical and a sedentary work environment.
Temporary 100 % Disability Rating:
VA gives this rating when a veteran has been hospitalized for 21 days or longer. Alternatively, VA awards the rating when a veteran’s service-connected disability required surgery that resulted in over 30 day convalescence period. VA will pay the veteran at the 100 % rate while the veteran is in the hospital or convalescence period.
Permanent and Total Rating:
Regarding permanent and total rating, VA gives this when a veteran’s service-connected disabilities have no probability of improvement. This means that the veteran will remain at the 100 % rating permanently without the need for future examinations.
