Ulysses Copeland v. McDonald,
Opinion Number 14-0929, was decided June 25, 2015 and concerns the proper
diagnostic code to be applied to bilateral pes planus with hallux valgus.
The veteran was service connected and granted a rating of
50% for bilateral pes planus with hallux valgus under DC 5276. The veteran sought separate 30% ratings under
DC 5284, which governs “foot injuries, other”, arguing that both DC 5276 and DC
5284 are potentially appropriate diagnostic codes and that DC 5284 is
applicable to all foot conditions as a catch all.
The Court rejected the veteran’s position. It read DC 5284 in the context of other
disabilities of the foot and found where a condition is specifically listed in
the rating schedule, it should be rated under that code. It also found that rating it by analogy to DC
5284 was not appropriate.
Judge Greenberg dissented and wrote that DC 5284 was
directly applicable to the veteran’s combined disability. He read DC 5284 was a broader diagnostic code
for foot injuries rather than conditions.
He wrote that “Nothing in the rating schedule prevents a disability from
being appropriately compensated under multiple diagnostic codes, and the
majority’s implicit suggestion that a disability listed in the rating schedule
can only be rated under its listed DC, when other provisions exist, comes
dangerously close to the Court reviewing the schedule for ratings for
disabilities.” Id. at *8.
Decision by J. Lance and J. Schoelen. Dissent by J. Greenberg.
