WingmanOpen the free toolsWingmanOpen the free toolsIf the VA already service-connected your tremor (also called tremor, tremors, essential tremor, shaky hands), it can cause or worsen other conditions that are ratable on their own. These "secondary" claims are where many veterans leave money on the table. Below is what a service-connected tremor commonly leads to, why, and what evidence each one takes.
A secondary claim only works if the primary condition (tremor) is already service-connected, and you have a nexus — a doctor's opinion that it is "at least as likely as not" the cause. More on nexus letters →
A visible shake that affects writing, eating and work is the kind of daily functional and social limitation that commonly supports a secondary mental-health claim.
What you'd need: A mental-health diagnosis plus a nexus opinion tying it to the tremor's effect on daily function. Worth knowing about the tremor itself: the VA rating schedule has NO diagnostic code named 'tremor'. Essential tremor is rated by analogy under 38 CFR 4.20 to a closely related condition, and which one depends on your actual diagnosis - Parkinson's has its own code (DC 8004 paralysis agitans), while other tremors are commonly rated by analogy to the convulsive/myoclonic codes. Ask your provider to name the specific diagnosis rather than just 'tremor', because that is what decides the code.