Va Rating Partial Knee Replacement

After your first year the VA will give you a permanent rating somewhere between 60 percent if you suffer weakness and severe pain with motion and 30 percent for lesser symptoms.

Va rating partial knee replacement. The November 2016 update to the M21-1 Manual however takes a very restrictive view of the Hudgens case and limits when the VA will apply DC 5055 to partial knee replacements. With intermediate degrees of residual weakness pain or limitation. The minimum rating for a knee condition status post-knee replacement is 30 percent. Do not EVER accept a 10 rating as your amount of VA disability compensation for a knee replacement.

Specifically total and partial knee replacements are evaluated as follows. While most VA decision makers wont treat a partial knee replacement as a total knee replacement if the conditions warrant they can still assign up to a year of temporary 100 percent evaluation under Paragraph 30. However for partial knee surgery you should receive a rating of 100 for a year following the procedure. 100 For four months following implantation of prosthesis or resurfacing.

Prosthetic replacement of knee joint. Weakness in the affected extremity 60. A rating for osteomyelitis will not be applied following cure by removal or radical resection of the affected bone. Convalescence is defined as the act of regaining or returning to a normal or healthy state after a surgical operation or injury.

After the four-month period the knee will be re-evaluated for a permanent rating. The minimum rating you can receive after a full knee replacement is 30 percent. The 30 percent rating is the minimum rating for a knee replacement meaning if you had a knee replacement and it is service-connected you will be rated at least at 30 percent. As the knee problem got worse the Veterans VA doctor recommended surgery to stop more damage from happening.

The temporary 100 rating may continue for 1 to 3 monthsdepending on your unique case. The rating criteria ranges from 100 percent to 30 percent disabling. Importantly both total and partial knee replacements are rated the same by VA under DC 5055. 5055 Knee replacement prosthesis.

For 1 year following implantation of prosthesis 100. Since the doctor wouldnt know if the surgery was successful until 3 months after the Veterans 1-week stay in the hospital we granted the Veteran a temporary 100 disability rating for 3 months. Partial knee replacement surgery doesnt have a minimum rating. Partial knee replacements are rated on the symptoms the patient experiences.

In Hudgens the Federal Circuit held that partial knee replacements qualify for the one-year temporary 100 disability rating under Disability Code DC 5055. Whether it is partial or total. Unlike total knee replacements partial knee replacements do not have their own diagnostic code. A Veteran had a left knee injury that resulted in a 30 disability rating.

There are very few absolutes in Veterans Law but this is one of them. You may be able to get an extension for up to 3 more months if your case is severe. With chronic residuals consisting of severe painful motion or. The rating will depend on the symptoms you experience.

The VA rates knee replacements under 38 CFR. If the pain is not severe but you have limited range of motion in your knee your knee will be rated according to the criteria set forth for limitation of flexion andor limitation of extension. The 60 percent rating as it is based on constitutional symptoms is not subject to the amputation rule. So for the VA to rate you at 10 following a service-connected total or partial knee replacement they have to either ignore the law and regulations or use the wrong rating criteria.

Convalescence ratings also known as temporary 100 ratings are an important part of the discussion of total knee replacements.