VA Compensation for Panic Disorder — Everything You Need To Know
Veterans who developed a panic disorder because of an in-service event or developed a panic disorder while serving in the U.S. military may be eligible for VA disability benefits. A VA disability advocate will help you with an appeal for veterans disability benefits. Once you are approved for VA disability benefits, you will begin collecting a monthly check if you are ultimately awarded a compensable rating and you may also have access to free VA health care.
For a free disability consultation, call (888) 373-4722 today.
Military Service and Panic Disorder
Serving in the U.S. military is one of the most honorable but challenging careers a person can have. While military service is rewarding, it can also lead to a number of mental ailments and mood disorders.
One such condition is panic disorder, where you suffer severe and debilitating panic attacks in stressful situations. During a panic attack, your blood pressure spikes, you may become disoriented and you may lose the ability to function rationally.
Panic disorder often goes hand-in-hand with agoraphobia — a fear of crowds and open spaces. Veterans with agoraphobia may experience panic attacks when forced to venture out in public.
Advocates Can Help You Build a Winning VA Disability Appeal for Panic Disorder
Our advocates have helped many disabled veterans appeal VA disability benefit cases. Many clients now collect VA disability benefits for mental impairments, including panic disorder. Advocates know the components of a winning appeal, and they can use their knowledge and resources to help you. These components include:
VA’s Criteria of a Disability Diagnosis
The evidence must establish that you have a mental health diagnosis.
Prove In-Service Event or Onset
Your case must also establish that you suffered a particular in-service event that could have led to or caused your panic disorder, or that your panic disorder began during your military service.
Establishing a Service Connection
The evidence must also demonstrate a medical nexus between your military service and the condition.
For a free VA disability case evaluation with advocates, call (888) 373-4722 today.
Count on Advocates to Fight for the Full VA Disability Benefits You Deserve
Advocates fight for the maximum compensation benefits you deserve. VA disability has a wide range of benefits, from less than $200 per month to over $3,000 per month (as of December 2019). Where you fall within this benefits range depends on your disability rating. This is a number assigned by VA, up to 100% in increments of 10. The person who reviews your appeal assigns you a rating based on the severity of your condition.
Your Disability Rating Determines Your Monthly Compensation
When VA approves you for disability, it assigns you a rating in 10 percent increments. VA uses the Code of Federal Regulations criteria to determine your disability rating for a service-connected mental health condition:
- 100% rating: “Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes 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, or own name.”
- 70% rating: “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 work-like setting); inability to establish and maintain effective relationships.”
- 50% rating: “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.”
- 30% rating: “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).”
- 10% rating: “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.”
- 0% rating: “A mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.”
Based on which rating you receive, you can expect the following monthly compensation rates:
- 0% disability rating: $0 per month
- 10% disability rating: $142.29 per month
- 30% disability rating: $435.69 per month
- 50% disability rating: $893.43 per month
- 70% disability rating: $1,426.17 per month
- 100% disability rating: $3,106.04 per month
Advocates fight for the highest level possible based on your diagnosis. They can go through your medical records, solicit statements from your doctor and gather other evidence to present to the VA on your behalf.
For a free case evaluation today, call (888) 373-4722.
