Loss Of Use

[Ricky]

Hey guys could some one please break this down into laymens terms for me:

Loss of use of a hand or a foot, for the purpose of special monthly compensation, will be held to exist when no effective function remains other than that which would be equally well served by an amputation stump at the site of election below elbow or knee with use of a suitable prosthetic appliance. The determination will be made on the basis of the actual remaining function of the hand or foot, whether the acts of grasping, manipulation, etc., in the case of the hand, or of balance and propulsion, etc., in the case of the foot, could be accomplished equally well by an amputation stump with prosthesis.

The part that I have a hard time understanding is the last part about the determination. Does it mean that if you can walk with a prosthesis then it is not considered loss of use?

Thanks

[Ricky]

That is my problem. I do not have PN so an EMG is usless. I have Centeral Nerve Damage due to a stroke. The pain is so intense I want to kill myself. The other problem is I can not tell when my foot touches the ground. Ambulating at night is a no go without a flash light. The pain rotates from a swelling that feels like the flesh is going to explode to the feeling that a wild animal is ripping the flesh from the bone. Will they consider the pain and my inability to not feel the foot? The last CP indicated that balance and forward motion was a problem and the leg displayed a loss of muscle.

Edited December 18, 2006 by Ricky

[Philip Rogers]

What they are trying to say is, if you get around on your existing foot (for example) like you would get around with a prosthesis..........then they will (supposedly) consider you as having "lost the use of" your foot.

Of course, trying to explain what the VA was trying to say in this case, to some 20-something twit at the VA is kinda like trying to teach Harley (that's my dog, Harley) how to ride my hog Harley.........which I can't ride anymore because of my "loss of use of" one of the legs/foot necessary for holding up the Harley(s), either the HOG or the DOG.

LarryJ - they make an apparatis for m/c's works like training wheels - in that when your stopped the wheels are down and on acceleration they retract and then extend when slowing at about 5 mph. There's also a trike but to give up riding is to die. Bad enuf they named a bike Harley, but your poor dog. lol jmo

pr

[LarryJ]

Phillip, thanks.

I've been riding since I got my first Cushman Eagle in 1960.

I've ridden most anything at one time or another. Even owned a Vicent Black Lighting for several years.

But, I guess my riding days are over. If it comes to the choice of being able to keep this one useless foot/ankle/leg or trying to ride and injuring it even worse, well, I guess I'll have to hang up the leathers.

I thought about a three-wheeler, but I can not get over the fact that the darn things LOOK LIKE TRI-CICLES!

Besides which they do not "ride" like a motorcycle, but instead, like a car with three wheels.

Oh, well, I've had a pretty good run, I guess, haven't I?

Had to sell the Ultra-Glide, couldn't afford it anymore anyway.

But! I ain't selling my Harley Dog.............(the world's LARGEST English Springer Spaniel. I swear he is).

[Philip Rogers]

Phillip, thanks.

I've been riding since I got my first Cushman Eagle in 1960.

I've ridden most anything at one time or another. Even owned a Vicent Black Lighting for several years.

But, I guess my riding days are over. If it comes to the choice of being able to keep this one useless foot/ankle/leg or trying to ride and injuring it even worse, well, I guess I'll have to hang up the leathers.

I thought about a three-wheeler, but I can not get over the fact that the darn things LOOK LIKE TRI-CICLES!

Besides which they do not "ride" like a motorcycle, but instead, like a car with three wheels.

Oh, well, I've had a pretty good run, I guess, haven't I?

Had to sell the Ultra-Glide, couldn't afford it anymore anyway.

But! I ain't selling my Harley Dog.............(the world's LARGEST English Springer Spaniel. I swear he is).

Larry, I got a friend rides a trike and he's got cerebral palsy. Of course he's never ridden a real bike though, either. Gonna have to hang mine up too, one of these days. I think about it . . . . then think nawwww, not yet. At least ya got Harley Dog. Later . . .

pr

[nlualum82]

I rode cycles since I could touch the ground on the first mini-bikes, dirt biking early on and throughout, times I had a street bike and no car.

The last few bikes I've broke down and bought ended up sitting around, so when I got my retro and thought "BIKE", I thought hard about how many opportunities I'd capitalize on for the bike to do my mood any good.

I bought a street rod instead, a '36 Chevy rat rod pickup, fenderless, hoodless, 350 Chevy and powerglide, plain gray finish, wash it at the quarter car wash before a car show.

I drive it alot, to events and often just like a regular car, to work, to the store. I call it my 4 wheeled motorcycle. It gives me a little leeway with the weather as well as balance, moving limbs for circulation, eating, etc.

A local mechanic has asked a few times about putting a heater in it for me, I tell him "motorcycles don't have heaters"! (subject to old age)

I guarantee if I parked it at a local bar amidst the Harleys, it'd get the most attention from the people. Hard to get my wife in it, hard to keep my son and granddaughter out of it.

Harley, huh! I was shopping for a street rod when my granddaughter got the blackest lab you ever saw and took my suggestion to name her Lizzy, after Henry Ford's tin lizzy - available in any color you want as long as it's black.

I wish I still had good joints - the knees are among the worst - and could still run for exercise. If I had a dog to go with me I'd name it scissors so that the answer to alot of questions (where ya been, what to do do for a hobby, etc.) would be "running with Scissors"!

[Bound4heaven]

Greetings,

I have loss of use of both feet and I do not wear braces nor have even been fit for them. My feet issues are related from aquired flat foot I got in the military, and 4 other issues that have been rated as service connected. I have extreme pain when I walk. I do use a cane when I walk, however I cannot walk far because of the pain. I cannot take steps because ofthe pain I have in the feet.

I was rated at 60% for bi-lateral foot conditions, and I applied for increase and they granted me loss of use. I never even had a claim filed for loss of use. My VARO looked at all the edivence that was submitted. I have seen my foot doctor at the VA for 6 years twice a year. He wrote many IMO's on my behalf stating my limitations and my foot problems. I believe it varies from situation to situation. The VA has a standard of issues that must be met in regards to loss of use. However in my case some of the requirements I half way met and others I overly met.

However the key here as with all VA claims is having your VA doctor's on board with you and willing to do what ever they can to made sure you get justice in the broken VA system. I hope this helps. God bless and Merry Christmas.

Bound4Heaven