Your rating is not permanent, and neither is your condition. When things get worse, the VA owes you a look at a higher rating.
A rating reflects your condition at a moment in time. When the condition worsens, that number is out of date, and you are entitled to file for an increase that reflects where you are now.
Signs it is time
- New treatment, medication changes, or surgery
- More frequent flare-ups or a longer recovery from them
- The condition now interferes with work or daily activities more than before
Document before you file
An increase claim invites a new C&P exam, and the exam is judged against the current criteria in 38 CFR Part 4. Walk in with current records that show the worsening, imaging, treatment notes, a symptom log, so the examiner is measuring reality, not a good day.
Protected ratings and long-held evaluations deserve care before you reopen them. We assess the risk and the upside before filing so an increase claim helps you, not the VA.
Every VA disability claim is adjudicated under the procedures in M21-1, the VA's internal Adjudication Procedures Manual, and the regulatory standards in 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4. Raters are bound by these rules, and when they deviate, veterans have grounds to challenge the decision. Under Gilbert v. Derwinski, the benefit-of-the-doubt standard at §3.102 requires the VA to resolve every evidentiary tie in the veteran's favor. Under Esteban v. Brown, separate disabilities producing separate functional losses must be rated independently, even when they arise from the same injury, the VA cannot collapse distinct impairments into one rating.
