question Secondary issue rating higher than the primary?

This is a veteran-related question from a JVHV member

greg

Member
It's really about the effect the primary condition has on you. For instance, if the chief concern is a knee injury at a 10% rating, yet it leads to depression as a secondary issue due to being unable to do activities you once enjoyed, the depression might be evaluated higher, perhaps at 30%, since it turns out to be more limiting than the knee injury on its own.
 

dVet

Member
Board Chair
The Veterans Affairs evaluates every disability following the unique guidelines detailed in 38 CFR Part 4 Subpart B. This assessment isn't strictly about whether the condition is primary or secondary. Thus, if a secondary condition issue causes more intense symptoms or bigger hurdles than the primary, it could be assigned a higher rating.

About @CalVet's point on pyramiding, the gist is you can't have separate ratings on the same disability or symptom. For instance, you can't have a 30% primary rating for depression and insomnia with a 70% secondary rating for PTSD (higher secondary to apply to your question). Chances are, they'll combine this into a single 70% mental health rating, or the rater might consider the larger picture and assign 100% instead.
 
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