Muliple Foot Injuries - Only Rated For Arthritis

[SixtyTwoF]

I do not know if I have any right to a CUE, or any sort of review, so forgive me if I have posted in the wrong forum in error.

I will give a history and wait for comment:

April 1992 - Enlist.

May 1993 - x-ray for ankle spain. No damage to the foot or ankle is observed. Tendon calcification is noted.

23 Jan 1994 - In Service accident:

• Dislocation of ankle (set)
• Broken tibia (plate and screws)
• Crushed/fractured 4th and 5th metatarsal (5th was open facture)
• Closed head injury (staples, stitches and scars)
• Scars

18 Feb 1994 - Hospital discharge paperwork only mentions the above.

While in-service recovering I had multiple operations, casting, x-rays, and Physical Therapy.

31 Mar 1994 - X-Ray states that a healed fracture of the calcaneus (heal bone) is noted. This is only one of two times it is mentioned in my medical records.

17 May 1994 - Xray mentions healed calcaneus. Missed or closed reductoin that is never mentioned in medial records.

Aug 1995 - Discharge and rated 10% disabled for arthritis. This was verified today with my VA DSO.

2013 - Spent 18 years thinking that getting 10% for my ankle was good. Then looked through medical paperwork in preparation of seeing a private doctor to consult on the possible realignment of Stevens Type III calcaneus malunion and realised that my deformed ankle was never taken into account in my rating. Nor was my range of motion in 4 angles (poor), Poor weight bearing position, malunion, and other moderate foot injuries.

I will try to describe the state of my heel and ankle. The rest of the damage is as imagined:

My heel is at an angle all the time. Trying to use my leg muscles I can put my heel in a straight up an down possition, but this is as far as I can go, and it is not the relaxed possition. Doing this also raises my toes into an unnatural possition. the heel and the pad are off-set from center by about 10 degrees. This causes me to partially stand on the side of my heel. The joint and heel are very wide and make wearing some shoes difficult. There is a scar on the bottom of my heel that can be painful after a long time on my feet.

I know we are not medical experts, but if the radiologists stated I had a broken calcaneus/heel why would the doctor not mention it? Could this be a reason to open a claim? lastly, if I get private work done would that destroy my chances of getting a higher percentage? finally Is chasing this even worth it?

[john999]

I think 10% is way too low for what you suffered. . You should get a private opinion on the condition of your heel and ankle. I would try and get my current rating bumped up before I went after a CUE. These CUE claims are tricky and often take many years to win. After you get maximum current rating go for the CUE. You could consult with a VA lawyer on chasing it. It could be worth it in a big way. You have much more going on than arthritis.

[SixtyTwoF]

John999,

Thank you so much for your reply. I am still trying to catch up on what all the lingo means and what three letter acronym I should be using to have my injuries reviewed. I am starting to think that I should repost this in another forum.

Before I repost this somewhere else, can you answer how I would try to get my current rating bumped after ingoring it for 18 years? Is there a form for 'reconsideration' or is this something that I should take up with my District Service Officer?

I do not even know where to start. Thank you again.

[Berta]

You need to re open your 10% claim with new and material evidence.You should file a new claim for those other conditions unless you did claim them in 1995 and the VA denied them.In that case you need to re-open them with N & M for each issue.

For the foot problems, go to our VA Schedule of Ratings here at hadit and find the info as to how they rate foot problems to see if you warrant a higher rating ( and probably sure do ) I agree with John...the 10% sucks. . IS VA saying there that the accident gave you arthritis in your foot?????There is a lot to foot conditions so read through all you can. DO you still have the old rating sheet (it used to be on blue paper) for the older claim?

Others here will opine on the other conditions you mentioned..

Sorry for all the VAOLA lingo......before you know it you too will be talking here in initials!

Also any inservice accident or TBI event can be the nexus of PTSD because it is a stressor.

If you feel you have any MH issues at all that could be from memories of that accident in 1994, (and I hope you dont)

now is the time to think about that type of claim as well.

This one caught my attention:

“Closed head injury (staples, stitches and scars) “

Any closed head injury can cause a TBI.

Traumatic Brain injury is explained in our TBI forum.

Was TBI ruled out when this occurred and you had the surgery etc for the head injury?

Then again VA has declared TBI as the Signature wound of the Iraq war.

But Heck,it was a signature wound in every war.! The VA as well as the general medical community really only started to understand TBI when the Iraq war caused so many of these injuries in vets ,most often due to IEDs.

The electronic veterans community hardly ever talked about TBI prior to the Iraq War.

.

The scars from the head injury are ratable as well as any other scars due to service.

Scar ratings are thus:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.benefits.va.gov%2FWARMS%2Fdocs%2Fregs%2F38cfr%2Fbookc%2Fpart4%2Fs4_118.doc&ei=yB1TUqKEH87srAHkooGoAg&usg=AFQjCNH0jd1B8mbJw97ETacnRJvU7rt0jg&bvm=bv.53537100,d.aWM

This is the 2012 (most recent revised scar rating criteria)

John999 , (who is super superb at picking up on stuff here) definitely gave you the nitty gritty with his statement:

"You have much more going on than arthritis."

I sure concur with that .

Edited October 7, 2013 by Berta

[Berta]

Our acronym list is here:

.

IED might not be in it

IED Intermittent explosive devise

[SixtyTwoF]

Berta, I really appreciate you talking the time to review my information, provide your conclusions, and give me more information.

You need to re open your 10% claim with new and material evidence.You should file a new claim for those other conditions unless you did claim them in 1995 and the VA denied them.In that case you need to re-open them with N & M for each issue.

This is exactly what I needed to hear. I had my exit physical, and then finally had VA make their decision in 2007. I only know this from talking to the VA this week. I was out of the country (young and dumb) and did not even know about the decision being made. I did not claim for any other injuries (that I know of). They may have review the injuries, but I doubt it.

For the foot problems, go to our VA Schedule of Ratings here at hadit and find the info as to how they rate foot problems to see if you warrant a higher rating ( and probably sure do ) I agree with John...the 10% sucks. . IS VA saying there that the accident gave you arthritis in your foot?????There is a lot to foot conditions so read through all you can. DO you still have the old rating sheet (it used to be on blue paper) for the older claim?

I had a look at the foot and ankle ratings. I am not sure the VA is saying that I have arthritis from the injuries. My VA contact told me that there was not even a joint mentioned! I do not think I have any of my VA review paperwork. I will have another look. I might have more info somewhere. (moving between countries mixes things up). I suppose I should start the process trying to get my C-File too. It may not be needed, but it sure would be good to have.

John999 , (who is super superb at picking up on stuff here) definitely gave you the nitty gritty with his statement:

"You have much more going on than arthritis."

I sure concur with that .

Thank you. I think I do too. I thought that I had compensation for the broken ankle until last week when the VA rep told me I was 10% for arthritis. I was shocked. I feel like I have been taken advantage off.

Thank you. I found the acronym list earlier today. That helped shed some light on things. Before that Google was able to answer most acronym queries.

Now I have the task of starting this process:
- Reopen claim for 10% (does this make sense? I am already probably getting maximum for arthritis below the knee.)
- New Claims for injuries that were not claimed in 1995. Including head scar.
- Try to find my old ratings sheet.
- Maybe start a request for my C-File.

I assume I can do all of this through e-Benefits or snail mail and do not have to go see my local VA rep?

Thank again all.

Edited October 7, 2013 by SixtyTwoF

[SixtyTwoF]

"Now I have the task of starting this process:

- Reopen claim for 10% (does this make sense? I am already probably getting maximum for arthritis below the knee.)

"Reopen with new evidence because they did not consider your foot condition properly in the older award. ( N & M is the SMR entries on the accident, surgeries etc....as it involved your foot."

- "New Claims for injuries that were not claimed in 1995. Including head scar. "

Yes , claim everything from the accident and tell it to them like they are ten years old, and enclose supporting medical evidence with it."

-" Try to find my old ratings sheet." That helped me with every claim I had. Sometimes I had to get the rating sheets from my former DAV rep long ago.if they were not with the decision.

My AO IHD claim however, no rating sheet at all but it was all explained in the narrative of the award.(and they made a big rating error I have claim on that is pending)

- "Maybe start a request for my C-File." absolutely and you will need your SMrs and med recs too.

"I assume I can do all of this through e-Benefits or snail mail and do not have to go see my local VA rep?"

VA doesnt let widows use ebenefits so I dont know about that.Someone else will answer that.

If you want your vet rep to continue to rep you,they will need to know what is what here on your issues.

Your SMRs can be obtained at the NARA web site...(National Archives)Click on the veterans records button.

It pays to have your DD 214 in front of you when requesting the SMRs. This will be for the SF 180 form at the site.

If you apply online (you can also print the SF 180 off) they will give you a bar coded thing to sign, make copies of and send to where the SF 180 says to send it. Make sure you get a roof of mailing.

The rep should have SF 180s in his office instead of you going to the NARA web site if you want .

Your C file should be requested from the Records Access Officer of your VARO.

The VAMC that treats you can be written to for a copy of your med recs. They also might have a brief form you can sign for them,if they aren't too far from where you live. That would be in the VAMCs Record Access office.

....

Thank you so much for this information. You are full of useful knowledge. BTW, you may want to edit your post. I think you pasted your text 4 times!

Only a few things I am unclear on at this point:

- Do I reopen the Claim and add-in the other injuries in the same re-opened claim? Or, do I re-open the claim and open a completely new claim(s) for the other injuries? Either way, I do not know if they were originally claimed and denied or if they were just ignored. Could I even start without knowing that?

- Should I request my C-File from the Raleigh, NC VARO even though I was discharged and had the initial claim in California?

The ability to get a copy of my Military Medical Record through the Nation Archive is new to me. This will be very useful as my copy of my medical records is incomplete. I have a copy of my DD-214, so I am off to a good start. The National Archive is not operating under the Gov Shutdown, so good start is now stopped. Looks like if I apply on-line I still have to send a signed form.

I am not sure if I mentioned this, but I was out of the country from 1999 to 2010. My VA decsion was in 2007, so I obviously never received notification nor did I recieve information on the ability to appeal. I have a feeling that this may help me.

Also, since I was out of the country, I never registered with VA Medical and have only really just contacted the VA since being back. I have to start from ground zero and it seems like everything is going to happen at once:

- Register for VA medical (1010-ez)

- Have initial visit at a VA hospital

- Re-open my claim, etc.

- See private doctor for thoughts on how to re-align my heel. (I am not having VA do it).

I might be able to use records from both of the above doctor visits to bolster my claim, but honestly, I do not think I will need it.