Claw foot, acquired (DC 5278)

Rating levels

• 50% — You qualify for this rating if BOTH feet show the most severe form of acquired claw foot. Findings must include marked contraction of the plantar fascia (the tissue along the sole), a dropped forefoot, ALL toes hammered (permanently bent into a claw shape), very painful callosities, and marked varus deformity (the foot rolls or twists inward at a severe angle). Both feet must show this level.
• 30% — You qualify for this rating if ONE foot shows the most severe form of acquired claw foot (the Marked tier). Findings are the same as the bilateral 50% Marked tier (severe plantar fascia contraction, dropped forefoot, all toes hammered, very painful callosities, marked varus deformity), but limited to a single foot.
• 30% — You qualify for this rating if BOTH feet show the middle severity tier of acquired claw foot. Findings must include all toes tending to dorsiflex (bend upward), dorsiflexion at the ankle limited to the right angle (90 degrees, no further), a shortened plantar fascia, and marked tenderness under the metatarsal heads (the balls of the feet). Both feet must show this level.
• 20% — You qualify for this rating if ONE foot shows the middle severity tier of acquired claw foot. Findings are the same as the bilateral 30% tier (all toes tending to dorsiflex, ankle dorsiflexion limited to the right angle, shortened plantar fascia, marked tenderness under metatarsal heads), but limited to a single foot.
• 10% — You qualify for this rating if BOTH feet show the milder symptomatic tier of acquired claw foot. Findings must include the great toe dorsiflexed (bent upward), some limitation of dorsiflexion at the ankle, and definite tenderness under the metatarsal heads. Both feet must show this level.
• 10% — You qualify for this rating if ONE foot shows the milder symptomatic tier of acquired claw foot. Findings are the same as the bilateral 10% tier (great toe dorsiflexed, some limited ankle dorsiflexion, definite tenderness under metatarsal heads), but limited to a single foot. Note: at this Great toe tier, bilateral and unilateral both rate 10%, the laterality bonus does not apply.
• 0% — You qualify for this rating if the claw foot deformity is only slight, meaning the foot shape is mildly abnormal but does not meet the criteria for any higher tier. There is no measurable functional impairment and none of the characteristic findings of the higher tiers (no severe plantar fascia contraction with hammer toes, no all-toes dorsiflexion with limited ankle motion, no great-toe dorsiflexion with metatarsal tenderness).