Scars, other; and other effects of scars evaluated under diagnostic codes 7800, 7801, 7802, or 7804 (DC 7805)

Body system: SkinRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.118

DC 7805 is the catch-all 'other scars' code in 38 CFR § 4.118. It does not assign a schedular percentage of its own. Instead, it directs raters to evaluate any disabling effect of a scar that is not already captured by DCs 7800 (head/face/neck disfigurement), 7801 (deep nonlinear scars not of the head/face/neck), 7802 (superficial nonlinear scars not of the head/face/neck), or 7804 (painful or unstable scars) under whichever diagnostic code matches the functional impairment. Common examples: limited joint motion from contracture (rate under the joint's DC), peripheral nerve compression (DCs 8520-8540), muscle injury (DCs 5301-5329), tendon adhesion, vascular compromise. Multiple scar effects can be rated separately under DCs 7800-7805 and combined under § 4.25 subject to anti-pyramiding rules of § 4.14 — they measure different disabilities of the same underlying scar.

Rating levels

  • -1% — DC 7805 has no schedular tier of its own. It is the catch-all 'other scars' code that captures any disabling effect of a scar that is not already accounted for by DCs 7800-7804. Examples: a scar that causes limited motion of an adjacent joint (rate under the joint's DC, e.g., DC 5260-5262 for knee, DC 5201 for shoulder, DC 5215 for wrist), a scar that compresses a nerve and produces peripheral neuropathy (DCs 8520-8540 by nerve), a scar that crosses a tendon causing functional impairment, a scar that produces pain that is constant rather than intermittent (DC 7804 already covers painful and/or unstable scars — use that DC for scar pain itself), or a scar with associated muscle injury (DCs 5301-5329 by muscle group). DCs 7800-7805 are designed to combine under 38 CFR § 4.25, NOT to be alternatives — Note 4 of DC 7800 explicitly authorizes combining DC 7800 (disfigurement) with the appropriate DC under 7805 for nerve/muscle/joint effects. Anti-pyramiding of § 4.14 applies between DCs that measure the same disability; a single scar that is both disfiguring AND limits motion gets BOTH ratings because they cover different disabilities.

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