Let’s look at the August 2019 veterans disability benefits statistics report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Learn how VA disability pension and compensation claims changed over the last 30 days in our analysis below.
August 2019 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status
The August 2019 veterans disability benefits statistics report shows any pension and compensation claims pending a decision from the VA. On August 3, the claims inventory held 343,565 unrated applications. Among those, about 1 in 3 come from veterans applying for VA disability compensation for the first time (114,792 claims). Just over 80,000 list seven or fewer unrated conditions (23.4% of the claims inventory). About 1 in 10 VA claims list eight or more unrated disabling conditions.
- As of August 3, 2019: 343,565
- As of July 6, 2019: 345,877
- Difference: -2,312
- Daily churn: -115.6 claims
The August 2019 veterans disability report also lists VA pension applications and claims from veterans’ survivors. Surviving spouses, children or parents of qualified veterans filed 13,129 claims this month (3.8%). VA pension applications made up just 2.4% of all first-time claims in the August 2019 veterans disability statistics report.
August 2019 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status
After 125 days, any VA claims still pending a determination decision automatically move into the backlog category. The August 2019 veterans disability benefits statistics report reverses any growth in backlogged claims since May:
- As of August 3, 2019: 73,775
- As of July 6, 2019: 77,558
- Difference: -3,783
- Daily churn: -189 claims cleared from the backlog
This month’s backlog is the smallest we’ve seen since June 2018. That’s because the VA cleared almost 200 claims per day! First-time claimants make up over 46% of August’s backlog. Supplemental claims for either additional conditions or increased evaluations make up 51% of the backlog. According to the VA, 81% of veterans filing supplemental claims already receive some monthly VBA benefits. And 1 in 10 filing supplemental claims already have a 100% VA disability rating. That means they currently receive at least $2,800 in VBA cash benefits every month.
You May Qualify for Free Legal Assistance
A VA-accredited lawyer can ensure you get the most benefits you’re owed paid as quickly as possible. Right now, 9 in 10 veterans with a lawyer handling their appeals prevail against the VA in court. The August 2019 veterans disability benefits statistics report shows the three-month VA claim accuracy rate is less than 88%. That means 1 in 6 veterans filing VA claims now won’t get all the benefits they’re rightly owed. The only way to get that VA benefit money is to file an appeal or supplementary claim later on. An attorney ensures you have all medical evidence needed to support your error-free VA claim.
In addition, every VA lawyer in our network provides free consultations to answer all your claim questions by phone. It costs you nothing to get a VA claim review before filing your paperwork. Already mistakenly denied your VA benefits? All VA-accredited lawyers work on contingency. That means you’ll pay nothing for professional claim help unless you win. And if you win, then you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee.
Ready to see if you may qualify? Click the button below to start your free benefits evaluation now!
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Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.