Cold Injury Residuals Claims Guide

Cold injury, frostbite and the lasting damage from severe cold exposure, is one of the most under-claimed conditions among veterans who served in Korea, Alaska, mountain units, and cold-weather guard duty. The damage often shows up decades later as numb, painful, cold-sensitive hands and feet. The rating has one rule that changes everything: each affected body part is rated on its own. This guide explains how DC 7122 works, why both feet can mean two ratings, and the evidence that wins.

What Cold Injury Residuals Are

Cold injury residuals are the long-term effects of frostbite or serious cold exposure: pain, numbness, tingling, extreme cold sensitivity, color changes, nail and skin changes, and sometimes tissue loss in the hands, feet, ears, or nose. The VA rates them under diagnostic code 7122, in the cardiovascular schedule because cold injury damages circulation and nerves (see 38 CFR § 4.104).

The damage often appears years later. Many veterans have no service records of "frostbite" but develop classic cold-injury symptoms decades afterward. A late diagnosis does not defeat the claim if the cold exposure in service can be established and a doctor links today's symptoms to it.

Each Affected Body Part Is Rated Separately

This is the rule that most changes a cold-injury rating. DC 7122 is evaluated per affected part. Frostbite of both feet is two separate ratings, one for each foot, then combined. Add both hands and that is up to four ratings from a single cold-weather event. A claim filed for "frostbite" without specifying every affected extremity leaves ratings on the table.

So the first job in a cold-injury claim is to list every part that was affected, each foot, each hand, the ears, the nose, and to have each one examined and rated on its own.

How It Gets Service Connected

Direct, from cold-weather service. Service in a cold climate or mission, Korea, Alaska, Europe in winter, mountain and airborne training, extended guard or field duty in the cold, with current cold-injury symptoms and a medical link back to that exposure.
Latent residuals. Even without an in-service "frostbite" diagnosis, the residuals can be service-connected if the cold exposure is established (unit history, duty location, buddy statements) and a doctor connects the current symptoms to it.
Secondary. Conditions that grow out of the cold injury, such as arthritis, nerve damage, or skin changes in the affected part. See secondary conditions.

Across published DC 7122 decisions, here is how often the Board granted by the legal theory the claim was argued on:

Common Secondary Conditions

Cold injury keeps damaging the affected part over time, so the same limb can carry separate, service-connected add-on claims as the tissue and nerves worsen.

Cold injury breeds add-on claims. The same foot can carry the cold-injury rating and, separately, service-connected arthritis, peripheral neuropathy, or skin changes that grew out of it. Rare skin cancers can also arise at old cold-injury sites. Each is its own claim on the same part.

How the VA Rates Cold Injury (DC 7122)

For each affected part, the rating starts from pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity, and climbs as more objective findings are present.

Rating	Findings in the affected part
30%	Pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus two or more of: tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, locally impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, or X-ray abnormalities (osteoporosis, punched-out lesions, or osteoarthritis)
20%	Pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity plus one of the findings above
10%	Pain, numbness, or cold sensitivity alone

X-rays and exam findings raise the rating. Because the 20 and 30 percent levels require objective signs, an X-ray showing arthritis or bone changes in the affected foot, or an exam noting nail changes, color changes, or impaired sensation, is what lifts a claim above the baseline 10 percent.

Go deeper: open the full cold injury breakdown

What the VA measures at your C&P exam
Evidence that has won at the Board
Inside the rater's playbook: grant, denial, and remand rates
Secondary condition map

See the full DC 7122 breakdown →

Evidence That Wins

Proof of the cold exposure: duty location and dates, unit and mission history, winter field or guard duty, and buddy statements, especially when there is no in-service frostbite diagnosis.
An exam of every affected part, listing each foot, hand, ear, or nose separately with its findings, so each gets its own rating.
X-rays of the affected extremities, which can show the arthritis or bone changes that reach the 20 and 30 percent levels.
A nexus opinion linking today's symptoms to the in-service cold exposure. See nexus letters.
The Cold Injury Residuals DBQ, which records the findings, per part, that the rating depends on. See the DBQ guide.

Common Mistakes

The same handful of missteps account for most lost or under-rated cold-injury claims. Among the Board's classified service-connection denials for cold injury, here is what claims most often fell short on:

Filing "frostbite" instead of each part. DC 7122 is rated per affected part. List every foot, hand, ear, and nose so each is examined and rated separately.
Stopping at pain and numbness. Those alone are 10 percent per part. X-rays and exam findings (nail, color, sensation, bone changes) reach 20 and 30 percent.
Assuming no frostbite diagnosis in service kills the claim. Residuals can be service-connected if the cold exposure is established and a doctor links the current symptoms to it.
Not claiming the add-on conditions. Arthritis, neuropathy, and skin changes in the same part are separate service-connected claims, not folded into the cold-injury rating.
No X-rays. The bone and joint findings that raise the rating are on imaging. Ask that the affected extremities be X-rayed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a rating for both feet?

Yes. DC 7122 is rated per affected body part, so frostbite of both feet is two separate ratings, then combined. Add both hands and a single cold-weather event can produce up to four ratings. Claim every affected part.

I was never diagnosed with frostbite in service. Can I still claim it?

Often yes. The residuals can be service-connected if the cold exposure is established, through duty location, unit history, or buddy statements, and a doctor links today's numb, painful, cold-sensitive symptoms to it.

What raises the rating above 10 percent?

Objective findings in the affected part: tissue loss, nail abnormalities, color changes, impaired sensation, hyperhidrosis, or X-ray abnormalities like arthritis. One such finding reaches 20 percent per part; two or more reach 30 percent.

Does cold injury cause other conditions I can claim?

It can. Arthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and skin changes in the affected part, and rarely skin cancer at old injury sites, can each be claimed separately as secondary to the cold injury.

What service usually leads to cold injury claims?

Cold-climate or cold-mission service: Korea, Alaska, winter Europe, mountain and airborne training, and long field or guard duty in the cold. The exposure, not a formal frostbite note, is what the claim needs to establish.

Related Tools and Guides

DC 7122, cold injury

The code page with rating levels and BVA data.

Combat & Service Exposure

Establishing cold-weather duty when records are thin.

Buddy Statements

Corroborating the cold exposure that started it.

Nexus Letters

Linking today's symptoms to the in-service cold.

Secondary Conditions

Arthritis and nerve damage that grow out of cold injury.

VA Math Calculator

Combine the separate per-part ratings.

Sources: 38 CFR 4.104, cardiovascular ratings · CCK Law, cold injury residuals · Hill & Ponton, cold-weather injuries. Educational only, not legal advice, and not a prediction of any individual claim. Rating criteria change; confirm current details in 38 CFR 4.104. For help with your claim, find a VA-accredited representative.