Temporary and Total VA Disability

CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law

Veterans who are rendered temporarily incapacitated due to a service-connected condition may be entitled to receive temporary and total VA disability compensation equivalent to a 100 percent rating. VA offers three forms of temporary 100 percent disability ratings:

• Prestabilization
• Hospitalization
• Convalescence

These forms of VA compensation provide benefits for veterans experiencing temporary, severe medical situations related to a service-connected disability.

These ratings are only applied to the most severe condition facing a veteran; for example, if a veteran is suffering from two service-connected disabilities, only one temporary rating will be assigned. The qualifications required to be eligible for these temporary awards of benefits vary from one to the next.

What Are Temporary and Total Ratings for Prestabilization?

A prestabilization rating is a temporary, immediate disability rating assigned to veterans who have recently been discharged from military service with a severely disabling and unstable condition that is expected to continue for an indefinite period of time. These veterans are considered to be “most likely in need and least likely to be self-sufficient.”

Prestabilization ratings are assigned in increments of 50 percent and 100 percent over a period of 12 months following the veteran’s discharge date. Veterans who receive a 100 percent prestabilization rating are suffering from an unstable condition incurred in service that will result in a severe disability.

According to 38 CFR § 4.28, a 100 percent prestabilization rating is only assigned if “substantially gainful employment is not feasible or advisable.”

Veterans receiving a 50 percent prestabilization rating immediately after discharge for their service-connected condition are considered to be suffering from the residuals of said condition. A 50 percent rating is assigned if, for example, your injuries incurred in service are not completely healed yet and will impair your ability to work.

For VA to reduce your prestabilization rating, a reevaluation must be conducted to assess the status of your condition. These exams are scheduled between six and 12 months following separation from service. VA will reduce your prestabilization rating if the evidence following a reexamination warrants a reduction.

A prestabilization rating is not assigned if the veteran is immediately eligible for a 100 percent schedular rating “under the regular provisions of the rating schedule,” or a 100 percent rating due to total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU).

To the same effect, a 50 percent prestabilization rating will not be assigned to those who would otherwise qualify for a schedular rating of 50 percent or higher “under the regular provisions of the rating schedule.”

What Are Temporary and Total Ratings for Hospitalization?

Temporary hospitalization ratings are assigned to veterans who have been hospitalized for over 21 days as a result of a service-connected condition. This rating is also assigned to those who remain under hospital observation for more than 21 days at the expense of VA. To qualify for a temporary hospitalization rating, you must be receiving treatment at a VA medical center or other VA-approved hospital.

If a veteran is assigned a temporary hospitalization rating, their effective date will be the date when continuous hospitalization began. Benefits will continue until the last day of the month in which the veteran stopped receiving treatment for their service-connected condition.

Under 38 CFR § 4.29, if a veteran is hospitalized for more than six months, their “claims folder will be referred to the rating activity for consideration of a schedular 100-percent rating.”

What Are Temporary and Total Ratings for Convalescence?

Convalescence is the third form of temporary total compensation assigned to veterans by VA. The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) has defined convalescence as “the stage of recovery following an attack of disease, a surgical operation, or an injury” and recovery as “the act of regaining or returning toward a normal or healthy state.”

Temporary 100 percent convalescence ratings are assigned to veterans who underwent treatment or surgery for a service-connected disability at a VA medical center or VA-approved facility. To qualify for a temporary and total convalescence rating, the veteran must have:

• Undergone treatment or surgery with a convalescence time of at least one month; or
• Experienced severe postoperative residuals that resulted from surgery (e.g., surgical wounds are not completely healed, the veteran is housebound, they need continuous use of crutches or wheelchair); or
• Experienced the immobilization of one or more major joints “by a cast without surgery.”

According to 38 CFR § 4.30, entitlement to a convalescence rating can be corroborated by a work excuse provided by a medical professional if there is a “clear connection between the claimant’s inability to return to previous employment and surgery or cast immobilization,” and that there is no evidence of record to the contrary.

The effective date of a convalescent rating is that of hospital admission or outpatient treatment, and can continue for one, two, or three months “from the first day of the month following such hospital discharge or outpatient release.” This timeframe is contingent on the veteran’s condition.

Extensions of one to three months are possible depending on the progress the veteran has made. Further extensions of one to six more months following the initial six-month period may also be granted at the discretion of the Veterans Service Center Manager.

In the video below, CCK Law Partner Emma Peterson explains five common misconceptions veterans have about total disability ratings:

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