VA Compensation Appeals for Eyelid Loss — Everything You Need to Know
If your military service caused or contributed to the loss of your eyelid(s), you deserve benefits. However, it is difficult to succeed alone. If the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denied your claim for eyelid loss veterans benefits, a VA disability advocate can help you appeal the denial.
Call (888) 373-4722 today to get started with a free consultation.
How VA Rates Your Eyelid Loss
To determine your monthly compensation, the VA will issue you a disability rating. This rating ranges in tiers of 10% up to 100%.
To obtain this rating, VA uses the same rating criteria for eyelid loss regardless of whether the loss is partial or complete. According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, VA is to “separately evaluate visual impairment due to eyelid loss and nonvisual impairment [for example, disfigurement] and combine the evaluations.”
There are several different rating criteria for visual impairment depending on how your eyelid loss affects your vision.
The schedule of ratings for skin disfigurement is as follows:
- 80%: “With visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of three or more features or paired sets of features (nose, chin, forehead, eyes (including eyelids), ears (auricles), cheeks, lips), or; with six or more characteristics of disfigurement”
- 50%: “With visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of two features or paired sets of features (nose, chin, forehead, eyes (including eyelids), ears (auricles), cheeks, lips), or; with four or five characteristics of disfigurement”
- 30%: “With visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of one feature or paired set of features (nose, chin, forehead, eyes (including eyelids), ears (auricles), cheeks, lips), or; with two or three characteristics of disfigurement”
- 10%: “With one characteristic of disfigurement”
The characteristics of disfigurement are:
- Scar 5 or more inches (13 or more cm.) in length
- Scar at least one-quarter inch (0.6 cm.) wide at the widest part
- Surface contour of scar elevated or depressed on palpation
- Scar adherent to the underlying tissue
- Skin hypo-or hyper-pigmented in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm.)
- Skin texture abnormal (irregular, atrophic, shiny, scaly, etc.) in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm.)
- Underlying soft tissue missing in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm.)
- Skin indurated and inflexible in an area exceeding six square inches (39 sq. cm.)
Combining the ratings is not simple. If you receive a visual impairment disability rating of 40% and a disfigurement disability rating of 50% you will not receive a 90% combined rating. Instead, VA uses a complex rating formula to determine your rating. Continuing with this example, you would receive a 70% combined disability benefit rates.
Disability Compensation to Which You May Be Entitled
After VA determines your disability rating, it will consult its pay schedule to determine your monthly disability compensation. The pay schedule, as of December 2019 for a single Veteran with no dependents, is:
• 10%: $142.29 per month
• 20% $281.27 per month
• 30%: $435.69 per month
• 40%: $627.61 per month
• 50%: $893.43 per month
• 60%: $1,131.68 per month
• 70 percent: $1,426.17 per month
• 80%: $1,657.80 per month
• 90%: $1,862.96 per month
• 100%: $3,106.04 per month
If you have dependents and a disability rating of 30% or higher, you may be entitled to additional compensation. To learn more, call (888) 373-4722.
Filing a Successful Appeal for Eyelid Loss Veterans Benefits
A successful appeal for eyelid loss veterans’ benefits requires a few conditions.
A Valid Diagnosis of Eyelid Loss
You must have an eyelid loss diagnosis.
An Event That Could Have Caused or Contributed to Your Condition
You must have suffered an event during your military service that caused or contributed to your eyelid loss.
A Nexus Between the Traumatic Event and Your Condition
This is often the most difficult part of proving your claim. You must be able to show a nexus, or link, between your in-service event and your eyelid loss.
To learn more about how a VA disability advocate can help you file a successful appeal, call (888) 373-4722.
Get Started with Your Appeal Today. Call (888) 373-4722 for a Free Consultation
The appeals process is often time-consuming and difficult. But you do not need to worry about that. A veterans’ disability advocate can handle your claim from start to finish, gathering evidence, filing paperwork, meeting deadlines, and representing you before the VA.
For veterans’ disability help, call (888) 373-4722. The consultation is free, and you do not pay unless your claim is successful. *
