Body system: Musculoskeletal SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.71a
This rating covers injuries to your radius bone - one of the two bones in your forearm that runs from your elbow to your thumb side of your wrist. The VA rates radius injuries from 10% to 30% based on how severe the damage is and how well the bone healed. A 30% rating means you have significant bone loss and visible deformity, while 10% is for bones that healed poorly with misalignment, and 20% is when the upper part of the bone never properly healed back together.
Rating levels
- 40% — Your radius bone (the larger bone in your forearm on the thumb side) has broken in the lower half near your wrist and the broken pieces have failed to heal back together (nonunion), creating abnormal movement where the break occurred (false movement). You must have lost at least 1 inch of actual bone material and have obvious visible deformity of your forearm shape.
- 30% — The bones in the lower half of your radius (the bone on the thumb side of your forearm) have failed to heal properly after a fracture, creating a "false joint" where the broken pieces move abnormally against each other (nonunion with false movement). You've lost at least one inch of actual bone material, and your forearm has significant visible deformity or abnormal shape. This results in substantial functional problems with your arm and hand movement.
- 30% — Your radius bone (the larger bone on the thumb side of your forearm) has a fracture in the lower half near your wrist that never healed properly, creating a nonunion (the broken bone ends don't connect). This causes false movement (abnormal bending or wobbling where the break is) when you move your arm, but there's no missing bone pieces or visible bent/twisted shape to your forearm.
- 20% — Your radius bone (the larger bone in your forearm on the thumb side) has broken in the lower half near your wrist and the broken pieces have not grown back together properly (nonunion). The broken ends move abnormally when you use your arm (false movement), but there is no missing bone and the arm doesn't look deformed. This creates ongoing pain and functional problems with wrist and forearm movement.
- 20% — The bone in your forearm called the radius has broken and failed to heal properly back together (nonunion), creating abnormal movement at the break site (false movement). This applies whether the break that won't heal is in the lower half of the radius bone near your wrist or in the upper half near your elbow.
- 20% — The bone in your forearm called the radius has broken and failed to heal properly back together (nonunion), creating abnormal movement at the break site (false movement). This applies whether the break that won't heal is in the lower half of the radius bone near your wrist or in the upper half near your elbow.
- 10% — Your radius bone (the larger bone on the thumb side of your forearm) has either failed to heal properly after a break in the lower half near your wrist, creating abnormal movement where the bone should be solid, or it healed in the wrong position causing bad alignment. This results in visible deformity, instability, and functional problems with your wrist and forearm movement.
- 10% — Your radius bone (the larger bone on the thumb side of your forearm) has either failed to heal properly after a break in the lower half near your wrist, creating abnormal movement where the bone should be solid, or it healed in the wrong position causing bad alignment. This results in visible deformity, instability, and functional problems with your wrist and forearm movement.