What can I do if VA rated my condition under the wrong diagnostic code?

Details

• Find the four-digit code on your rating decision codesheet and read its actual criteria in 38 CFR Part 4.
• Ask whether the criteria measure the function that actually limits you. If not, look for a better-matching code in the same body-system section.
• A code change only raises a rating if the alternative code has a higher ceiling AND your records document the findings it requires.
• Hyphenated codes such as 5299-5237 are analogous ratings authorized by 38 CFR § 4.27 — they are not automatically errors.
• Clear and unmistakable error (CUE) rarely applies; a disagreement over which of two plausible codes fits is generally a difference of judgment, not CUE.