Jim,
I am a 60% disabled Vietnam vet for 4 years. My claims are PSTD and Hearing. I have submitted a new claim ( Agent Orange prostate Cancer) that is now in the Information processing phase.
All that I read is that the rating will be 100% temporary until cancer is determined cured, then reduced to 40 to 60 percent. My question is: If my Prostate cancer claim of 100% is reduced to say, The lowest 40% will they add that to my Present 60% and give me a 100% permanent? Am I understanding this correctly?
Reply:
No, I'm afraid you aren't understanding the VA rating system correctly. You don't understand the way VA adds up the individual rating numbers. At the VA, 2 + 2 doesn't equal 4.
We often refer to this as "VA math". The Combined Ratings Table (CRT) is the tool that prevents 60 + 40 being 100.
See http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/docs/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_25.DOC
If you have a 60% rating and achieved an additional 40% rating, the two would combine to be 80% in the CRT. Using the CRT takes a little practice before most people get it right. But once you see how it works, it isn't hard to use.