- What you need to show the VA to receive a higher rating
for your neck and back disabilities.
Hi, I'm Cecilia Santostefano,
a Veterans benefits attorney with Woods & Woods,
an Indiana based law firm
that is dedicated to helping veterans
and their families nationwide.
We commonly see veterans
who experienced neck and back disabilities
as a result of their service.
Oftentimes, they are dissatisfied
with the rating that VA awards them
and seek to receive a higher rating.
There are several ways
to go about requesting a higher rating
for your neck and back disabilities.
But the first step is to take a look at the rating criteria
that VA has demonstrated under 38 CFR 4.71a.
Because most back and neck disabilities
impact the cervical and lumbar spine,
VA uses a general rating criteria
for injuries and diseases to the spine.
If you take a look at this rating code,
you'll notice that VA has equated
certain range of motion scores
with certain disability ratings.
One of the ways that you can show the VA
that you are entitled to a higher rating
is to point out that your range of motion scores
fit with the higher rating code.
If you take a look at the rating code,
you'll notice that the ratings 30% and above
require something called ankylosis.
Ankylosis is essentially a lack of movement,
and it means that your spine is fixed in a certain position
due to your disability.
If you're looking at the rating code
and notice that your range of motion scores alone
will not be enough to get you to that next higher rating,
and you don't have ankylosis,
what you can do is discuss your functional loss with VA.
In addition to range of motion scores
and medical findings like ankylosis,
the VA has to consider the severity
of a veteran's functional loss.
Functional loss refers to any impairment
in a veteran's functioning
due to their service-connected back or neck disability.
Commonly, veterans with neck disabilities
report difficulty driving
due to an inability to fully turn their neck.
And veterans with a back disability
often report difficulty bending forward
to tie their shoes or sitting down in a chair
for a very long time that is not a recliner.
By making the VA aware
of the severity of your functional loss
that could trigger the VA to assign a higher rating.
Sometimes a veteran doesn't even need to show
an actual medical finding of ankylosis too.
Just like the functional loss,
you can demonstrate the functional equivalent of ankylosis.
So what does that look like?
Sometimes veterans are required
to wear neck or back braces for their condition
that often leaves them fixed in a given position
while the brace is on.
So without the brace, a veteran may be able to retain
some range of motion and some movement in their spine,
but while the brace is on, they cannot move at all.
This may be the functional equivalent of ankylosis
and the VA has to consider that if you raise it.
Another way to receive increased compensation
for your back or neck disability
is to argue that you have conditions
that are related to your back or neck.
For example, back to the diagnostic code,
there is a note at the end that states
that any neurologic disabilities
that can be attributed to your neck or back disability
must be given a separate rating
under the right diagnostic code.
Common neurologic disabilities that we see here
are Radiculopathy,
which is pain or numbness and tingling
that starts in the back and neck and radiates elsewhere
often the lower extremities or the hands and fingers.
Additionally, the VA has specified
that bowel and bladder incontinence and impairment
also deserve a separate rating.
Finally, if you have a severe neck or back condition,
you may be entitled to a total disability rating
based on individual unemployability,
which is more commonly referred to as TDIU.
One way to find out if you could be entitled to this benefit
is to look at your functional limitations.
The VA has to consider impairments
in standing, sitting, bending, climbing stairs,
grasping and carrying objects, for example,
because those are common work tasks.
If you find that you have difficulty
with any of these tasks, give us a call,
we'd be happy to assist you.
I'm Cecilia Santostefano. Thank you for watching.