VA got roughly half of its zero percent joint ratings wrong over a recent 12-month stretch. This finding does not come from a veteran’s group. It comes from the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General.
If your knee, back, shoulder or ankle is rated at 0% and it hurts when you move it, then your rating deserves a second look.
What a 0% Rating Means
A 0% rating, or “noncompensable,” means VA agrees that your condition is service-connected but won’t pay for it. Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common service-connected disabilities, and VA counted 3.3 million of them at noncompensable levels in fiscal year 2024.
The Painful Motion Rule VA Keeps Misapplying
Joint ratings usually turn on the range of motion. But 38 C.F.R. § 4.59 adds a key layer: actually painful, unstable, or malaligned joints are meant to receive at least the minimum compensable rating for that joint. Pain counts even when your measurements look close to normal.
The Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims has established the following rule:
- In Petitti v. McDonald (2015), the court held that a veteran’s own credible description of pain can be sufficient evidence. The examiner does not need to confirm this description.
- Burton v. Shinseki (2011) ruled that the rule is not limited to cases involving arthritis.
- Correia v. McDonald (2016) states that exams must assess pain during active and passive movement, both with and without weight bearing.
The minimum is not always 10%. It depends on the diagnostic code. A painful knee or spine movement generally supports 10%, but a painful shoulder under diagnostic code 5201 can support 20% since that’s the lowest level of compensation for that code.
What the Inspector General Found
The OIG report, released on August 6, 2026, examined zero percent of joint decisions completed between April and March. Inspectors estimated that around 32,000 out of about 64,000 decisions were misapplied in painful motion. A second sample revealed that the errors were still occurring in November.
The cause of the problem was not a few careless raters, but rather confusion built into the system. Raters were not sure whether a veteran’s own report of pain had the same weight as an examiner’s findings, and under VA guidance, pain alone can sometimes be enough to qualify. Offices within the VA Compensation Service disagree about whether pain qualifies, and the procedure manual and rating software uses inconsistent terms and inputs.
Signs Your Joint Rating May Be Wrong
Please pull your rating decision and C&P exam report and look for the following:
- Pain noted anywhere during the exam, including in your medical history or during repeated use or weight-bearing activities.
- A decision that never mentions pain during motion. This silence is often a clear red flag.
- Skipped passive-motion or weight-bearing tests.
- Flare-ups that you reported but the examiner ignored.
Have two or more conditions rated at 0%? Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324, the VA can assign up to 10% if they clearly interfere with the ability to work normally.
How to Challenge a 0% Joint Rating
The VA’s decision review process offers three options:
- Higher-Level Review – a senior reviewer reviews the record again. This is appropriate if the pain evidence is already present.
- Supplemental Claim – you can add new and relevant evidence, such as a detailed personal statement, to support your case.
- Board Appeal – a Veterans Law Judge makes a final decision.
Don’t Let a Zero Stand Without a Second Look
The VA’s own watchdog has confirmed this. A 0% joint rating is often the result of a misapplied rule, not a mild condition, and these errors will not fix themselves.
Coskrey Law handles VA disability claims and appeals, including cases before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. We will review your rating decision and examination, determine whether a painful motion was overlooked, and choose a path that protects your effective date. We operate on a contingency basis, so you do not pay for legal services unless you receive a benefit.
Contact Coskrey Law today to have your joint rating reviewed.