Secondary Condition Mapper

Who this tool is for

Consider Carol, 48, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and former nurse, now a civilian hospital administrator in Colorado Springs. She spent twenty-two years on active duty, including deployments where she ran a hospital ward for four days on two hours of sleep. She filed her first VA disability claim a year ago, on her own. The VA rated her at 60 percent. She was slightly surprised the rating was that high and went back to her life.

Carol came to this tool because a coworker at her new civilian job mentioned over lunch that some health problems can be linked back to conditions the VA already recognizes. She has been having migraines since her second deployment. She has hearing loss in her left ear. She has a knee her orthopedic surgeon has said will need replacement. None of these are on her current rating. She enters PTSD, which is already on her rating, and sees that migraines can be linked to PTSD and rated separately — if her provider can write a letter describing the connection.

Carol is not going to file her second claim from this page. She starts a folder on her desk labeled Claim 2 and begins gathering what her provider's letter would need to show. She is not angry at the first rating. She is too organized to be angry at a first rating. She is methodical, and she intends to be more thorough the second time.

If you already have a VA rating and you have health problems that started or got worse during your years in service, this tool is a way to map possible connections that a conversation with an accredited representative can build on. It does not file claims. It does not decide who is eligible for what. It gives you a short list of likely links and the kinds of evidence a provider might be asked to describe.

See current VA disability compensation rates →