P&T question

[160thVet]

i just got a disability rating increased for my lumbar / degenerative disc injury and depression to 40% and it also said it was "permanant and total"

i been googling the hell out of what it means and i cant find what im entitled to at only 40% disability with P&T cuz all i can find is 100% P&T

i guess what im wondering is what it all means and will i get the 569$ a month or the full "permanant and total" disability rating payment at 100%?

its confusing i guess when they are as vague as they always are and use muli-use jargon..

[skippy13]

Permanent and Total just means that for that rating of 40% the condition is likely to remain static. That is not likely to improve. You could only have a 10% rating and have that condition be permanent and total.

The word total is probably what is giving you issue here, but means nothing in particular in this case. The VA should not use the word total in your case, but it is the VA and that is how they do things.

If you have other questions, we are happy to try to help you here, but a better site for veterans questions is http://vets.yuku.com .

[skippy13]

On further investigation to this matter you present, I find a lot of confusion and ambiguosity.


Permanent and Total

Permanent: No future review scheduled, your condition is not likely to improve.

Total: You are being compensated at the 100% rate.

There are three ways you can be total (Paid at 100%)

1. 100% schedular; You have a single condition which is rated at 100%, or all of your ratings combined brings you to 100% by the combined rating schedule.

2. IU; You are rated less than 100%, can't work because of your service connected disabilities and you meet the rating requirements to be awarded IU and compensated at the 100% rate.

3. Temporary 100%; You are hospitalized for an extended time (21 days) and qualify for the temporary 100%, or you have a medical procedure which you are allowed 100% for a set period of time to recover... ie hip replacement.


I would call your VSO to find out if you wil be paid at the 100% rate, but you can also just sign up for e-benefits to see your current status. To sign up for e-benefits you have to be verified in person at a VA facility like you have to be to use the VA's My healthy vet program. If you can use the myhealthy vet, you can sign up for e-benefits without further trouble. Be aware that the e-benefits site is less than perfect and is frequently down for various reasons. You can use it to generate letters for other benefits you may be entitled to such as property tax relief, fishing and hunting licenses ans others that may apply to you in your home state.