Disability Calculator

[mags1023]

Has any one ever received their ratings as far as how the VA enters them in to the calculator??

I ask this because I have carpal tunnel syndrome at 30% right and 20% left. I have tried to get the VA to write me and put it in writing how they are entering it in the calculator. Am I rated at 50% for CTS and is it entered as 50 or do they put 30 and 20 in. Also, I believe I should be getting the bilateral factor here. I am being rated under the 8515 diagnostic code for Median nerve.

I would like to receive a letter from them that thoroughly explains how they enter each of my rated disabilities in to their calculator. If you have received this from VA, can you tell me how you got it? Every time I am rated for something new or increased, they just tell me my overall rating and how much I am being rated for that particular disability.

Thanks for your help.

[john999]

You should be getting the bilateral factor. I don't think the VA ever sends you a letter to tell you exactly how they come up with your rating. There are calculators that will show you what you should have. I got 70&,60% and five 10% ratings. It is 90%. I have PN in both hands and both feet. I should have bilateral factor for all four limbs. I can tell you that the closer you get to 100% the less individual ratings matter.

[pacmanx1]

what are your service connected ratings?

[mags1023]

what are your service connected ratings?

I have the following ratings that combined equal 80% (77% rounded up) per the VA:

Carpal Tunnel 50% ? (30% rt and 20% lft) bilateral extra 10?? (I can't get an answer from them on the bilateral factor. None of my paperwork states bilateral CTS.)

Cervical spine DDD lim ROM 30%

Major depressive disorder 10% (appealed)

Tinnitus 10%

RT shoulder/clavicle deform 10%

Hiatal hernia/GERD 10% (NOD)

Thanks for your interests.

[pacmanx1]

Mags, sorry but I still don't understand. Using the combined rating chart, it would still come up with you being rated and paid at the 80% rating level so, I don't understand your point.

[mags1023]

The VA is very vague on this subject. I understand that at his point even if I was getting the 10% for bilateral, I would be getting my 80%, but there were times when I only had CTS 50 and Cerv spine 20 and that came out to 60%. If I was getting the extra 10% for CTS, it would have been 60+20 = 68 and rounded to 70%. I also am expecting increases in the near future to my depression, GERD, and lumbar spine. It may make a difference in my retro if I am can get the 10% bilateral factor and also my CTS is diff if it is entered as 50 or separately as 30 right and 20 left. It may make the difference between 90 and 100%.

[pacmanx1]

Hope this will help

§ 4.26 Bilateral factor.

When a partial disability results from disease or injury of both arms, or of both legs, or of paired skeletal muscles, the ratings for the disabilities of the right and left sides will be combined as usual, and 10 percent of this value will be added ( i.e. , not combined) before proceeding with further combinations, or converting to degree of disability. The bilateral factor will be applied to such bilateral disabilities before other combinations are carried out and the rating for such disabilities including the bilateral factor in this section will be treated as 1 disability for the purpose of arranging in order of severity and for all further combinations. For example, with disabilities evaluated at 60 percent, 20 percent, 10 percent and 10 percent (the two 10's representing bilateral disabilities), the order of severity would be 60, 21 and 20. The 60 and 21 combine to 68 percent and the 68 and 20 to 74 percent, converted to 70 percent as the final degree of disability.

(a) The use of the terms “arms” and “legs” is not intended to distinguish between the arm, forearm and hand, or the thigh, leg, and foot, but relates to the upper extremities and lower extremities as a whole. Thus with a compensable disability of the right thigh, for example, amputation, and one of the left foot, for example, pes planus, the bilateral factor applies, and similarly whenever there are compensable disabilities affecting use of paired extremities regardless of location or specified type of impairment.

(;) The correct procedure when applying the bilateral factor to disabilities affecting both upper extremities and both lower extremities is to combine the ratings of the disabilities affecting the 4 extremities in the order of their individual severity and apply the bilateral factor by adding, not combining, 10 percent of the combined value thus attained.

© The bilateral factor is not applicable unless there is partial disability of compensable degree in each of 2 paired extremities, or paired skeletal muscles.