Looking for Accurate Information - Joint Pain / Radiculopathy

[KMac1181]

Hello,

Please forgive me if this is not the correct location; I'm admittedly a bit lost in navigating the forums.  I discovered this site during hours of Googling and Reddit perusing, but still have not found what I'm looking for.

The first item I have a question about is how the VA *actually* rates shoulder pain, when there is no LOM.  Based on what I've read, the VA will grant the veteran the minimum compensation for a specific joint, but how do you determine the DC or minimum rating?  If it's painful to laterally raise your arms both in front of you and out to the side, but you have essentially full ROM still, how will the VA actually rate that?  Is the minimum per side for shoulders 10% or 20%?  The internet is full of conflicting information, and the VA's documentation doesn't specify this exact question (or I'm just an idiot).

The second question I have is IRT a DBQ for lumbar radiculopathy.  In this case, the VA's Rating Schedule is ambiguous; terms like "mild", "moderate", and "severe" are on the DBQ, but the schedule of ratings does nothing to expound on what symptoms classify each descriptor.  Will the VA rate radiculopathy based on the boxes that are checked in the DBQ?  If the Veteran's Peripheral Nerves Conditions DBQ has all symptoms checked as "Moderate" and "Incomplete Paralysis", will the VA actually award a 20% rating for each side?

Finally, on the same Peripheral Nerves Conditions DBQ, does the VA assign ratings for each nerve group that is affected?  If both the Sciatic nerve and Femoral Nerve are marked as having "Moderate incomplete paralysis", will each nerve receive it's own rating, or are they bunched together as mental health conditions?

Please forgive the lack of brevity.  I'm currently going through a MEDBOARD with 21 years of active service, and I want to have the most accurate information moving forward in the event I need to appeal.  These specific outcomes will likely be the determining factor in whether I receive a 90% overall rating vs. a 100% rating, so I'm really stressing it.  I'm hoping one of them is actually 20% per side.

Any and all insight on the above questions is *greatly* appreciated.  Thank you for your time,

Shaun

[Rattler]

KMac

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[Rattler]

On 9/24/2024 at 5:41 PM, KMac1181 said:

Hey Broncovet,

Yep, I'm somewhat familiar with the VA'a rating schedule.  I did read over them, which is actually what ultimately brought me here.  

Just wondering if the VA actually uses its own documentation.  Since the radiculopathy rating schedule shows percentages for arbitrary symptoms "Mild/Moderate/Severe."

^^^ Those aren't very concise.  So on a DBQ, if the C&P doc checks boxes for "Moderate", does the VA give it a "moderate" rating?  Or are the boxes on DBQ's irrelevant?

And I haven't been able to figure out if each impacted nerve group gets its own rating.  

 

Shaun

To answer your question. (Kind of) From what I have seen, and I think others here will agree. It depends on the rater and how they interpret what the C & P doc says. Some find a reason to give you a lower rating regardless of what the C & P doc says. If I get time today I am going to do a post on C & P Exams and how QTC and VHS manipulate what the docs put into them. It will be an eye-opener.

[KMac1181]

4 hours ago, Rattler said:

To answer your question. (Kind of) From what I have seen, and I think others here will agree. It depends on the rater and how they interpret what the C & P doc says. Some find a reason to give you a lower rating regardless of what the C & P doc says. If I get time today I am going to do a post on C & P Exams and how QTC and VHS manipulate what the docs put into them. It will be an eye-opener.

Hey Broncovet,

Thank you, this is more or less what I was looking for.

I've seen on various forums, posts, social media, etc, folks who have similar conditions to me, similar C&P findings as me, yet their ratings for each disability seem to vary wildly, which makes no sense to me.  I was assuming the VA raters, in general, use some form of ambiguous rating system not known to everyone else, otherwise the findings on the DQB SHOULD dictate exactly what rating is assigned, but that does not seem to be the case, as you said.

For what it's worth, all of my C&P exams were conducted at a QTC location in southern CA, and honestly, I would say that each of them are filled out in a way that is favorable to me, but I guess we'll see.

Ultimately, I know that once my rating comes back from the MEDBOARD, if anything is unfavorable, I can submit a VARR.  I'm wondering if a personal statement would be beneficial to go along with that?  

In any case, looking forward to your post regarding the C&P exams.  Thank you again for the info!

Shaun

[brokensoldier244th]

Legally there is no ambiguity- the ratings schedule is online and publicly available. If they are rating not based on your DBQs from the exams that they requested then I would HLR it. 

 

[KMac1181]

2 hours ago, brokensoldier244th said:

Legally there is no ambiguity- the ratings schedule is online and publicly available. If they are rating not based on your DBQs from the exams that they requested then I would HLR it. 

 

Hello.  Yep, that's my intention should the need arise.  I've heard of both VARR and HLR; are those the same thing?

 

Shaun

[brokensoldier244th]

I think VARRs are done on the DOD side. HLR is a review/reconsideration of a denied claim where you can't submit new evidence.