When applying for VA disability benefits, many veterans focus solely on their primary service-connected conditions and overlook an important opportunity to increase their overall rating: secondary conditions. Understanding and claiming these connected disabilities can make a meaningful difference in both your monthly compensation and access to additional benefits.
What Are Secondary Conditions?
A secondary condition is a disability that develops as a result of an already service-connected condition. While primary conditions are directly linked to military service, secondary conditions arise from the effects, treatment, or natural progression of those primary disabilities.
For example, a service-connected knee injury might cause you to walk differently, leading to hip or back problems over time. Those new issues can be claimed as secondary to the knee injury. Likewise, side effects from medications prescribed for a service-connected condition—such as liver damage, weight gain, or digestive problems—may also qualify as secondary disabilities.
Common Examples
Secondary conditions appear in many forms:
- Mental health complications: Veterans with PTSD or depression may develop sleep disorders, which in turn can lead to hypertension, heart disease, or diabetes. Chronic stress often creates physical health problems that qualify for separate ratings.
- Orthopedic chains: A single joint injury can trigger a cascade of problems. For instance, an ankle injury might lead to knee issues, which then cause hip or back pain—all of which can be rated individually.
- Medication side effects: Treatments for service-connected conditions can cause everything from organ damage to significant weight changes, creating additional claimable disabilities.
Why Secondary Claims Matter
Secondary conditions play a key role in maximizing VA benefits. Each condition receives its own disability rating, and the VA combines these ratings using its unique “VA math.” Adding secondary ratings can push you past critical thresholds—such as the 30% mark that qualifies dependents for additional compensation, or even a combined 100% rating.
Secondary claims also offer another route to a higher overall rating when your primary condition has reached its maximum. For example, if your knee injury is capped at 20% but you develop a secondary back condition rated at 40%, your combined rating could increase substantially.
Proving the Connection
To win a secondary claim, you must establish a medical nexus—a clear link between your primary service-connected condition and the secondary disability. This usually requires a medical opinion from a qualified provider and records showing how the primary condition caused or aggravated the secondary issue. The key is demonstrating that, “but for” the original condition, the secondary disability would not have developed.
Take the Next Step
Review your service-connected conditions and consider any related symptoms or side effects. Have medications caused new problems? Has one injury forced you to overcompensate, creating pain elsewhere? These situations may represent valuable opportunities to increase your VA rating and monthly compensation.
At McKown and Myers, we help Indiana veterans navigate these complex claims and appeals. If you’ve been denied benefits or need guidance on secondary conditions, call 765-668-7531 or fill out our contact form for a free consultation. Your service earned these benefits—let us help you secure them.