Body system: Musculoskeletal SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.71aDBQ: DBQ MUSC Hand and Fingers
This rating applies when four fingers on one hand are stuck in a fixed but still-useful position (favorable ankylosis). The VA rates it from 30% to 50% depending on which fingers are affected and whether the affected hand is your dominant (major) or non-dominant (minor) hand. Thumb plus any three fingers rates 50% on the dominant hand or 40% on the non-dominant hand. All four fingers without the thumb (index, long, ring, little) rates 40% on the dominant hand or 30% on the non-dominant hand.
Rating levels
- 50% — Your thumb and any three of your fingers are permanently locked in a position that actually helps you use your hand better than if they were completely stiff or floppy. This type of stiffness (called ankylosis) means the joints don't bend, but they're frozen in a useful position that still allows you to grip and hold objects. You must have this condition affecting your thumb plus three other fingers on the same hand to qualify for this rating.
- 40% — Your thumb and any three of your four fingers are permanently stuck in a fixed, bent position that actually helps you function better than if they were completely stiff and straight (ankylosis means joints that don't move, and "favorable" means the fixed position is useful rather than completely limiting). This condition must affect four specific digits including your thumb plus three other fingers on the same hand.
- 40% — This rating applies when all four fingers on one hand (the index, middle, ring, and little fingers) are ankylosed, meaning the joints are fused and no longer bend, but they are fixed in a favorable position. For the fingers, the rating schedule treats ankylosis as favorable when only one of the two main joints of the finger (the knuckle or the middle joint) is fused and the fingertip can still come within 2 inches (5.1 cm) of the crease across the palm when the finger is bent as far as it will go.
- 30% — Your index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger on one hand are all permanently stuck in a bent or fixed position that actually helps you function better. Ankylosis means the joints have fused or become immobile, and "favorable" means they're positioned in a way that still allows you to grip objects or perform basic hand tasks reasonably well.