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Loading the secondary condition explorer…
Free tool · 38 CFR § 3.310
Build the rest of your claim. Check what you are already rated for — we surface every medically linked condition, you shortlist the ones that fit, and the plan shows what your combined rating could look like. VA math, not addition.
Free tool · 38 CFR § 3.310
Build the rest of your claim. Check what you are already rated for — we surface every medically linked condition, you shortlist the ones that fit, and the plan shows what your combined rating could look like. VA math, not addition.
Step 01
Check each condition you already hold a rating for, then set the rating VA assigned it.
Step 02
Check what you are already rated for, and the conditions medically linked to it will appear here.
Today
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VA combines ratings, it does not add them — each condition raises the total at a diminishing rate (38 CFR § 4.25). Bilateral factor not applied.
You chose these levels. VA assigns the actual rating from your evidence.
Nothing shortlisted yet
Add a linked condition and we will show what it does to your combined rating.
Saved to this browser.
A secondary service-connected condition is a disability that was either caused by or aggravated by a condition you are already service-connected for. Under 38 CFR § 3.310, VA recognizes that one medical condition can lead to or worsen another. A veteran rated for a knee injury may develop degenerative arthritis in the same joint; a veteran with service-connected PTSD may develop sleep apnea as a secondary condition.
Secondary conditions do not need their own in-service event, but winning one takes three things: a current diagnosis of the new condition, a service-connected primary condition, and a medical nexus opinion connecting the two. This explorer maps relationships drawn from medical literature and VA rating-schedule provisions, to help you identify connections worth discussing with your doctor or an accredited representative. A relationship shown here is a starting point, not evidence.
Worried that filing more claims puts your current ratings at risk? Filing a new claim does not rescind benefits you have already been granted. A rating can only be reduced through a separate process that requires advance notice and gives you the chance to respond with evidence (38 CFR § 3.105(e)).
