A scar the size of a dime can out-rate one the size of a hand. Size does not matter to DC 7804; pain and instability do, and painful scars add up across the body. A single scar can also lawfully carry more than one rating at a time, because pain, area, and lost joint motion are different disabling effects the schedule measures separately.
How VA rates scars
Scars are rated under 38 CFR 4.118, across a small family of diagnostic codes (7800 through 7805). The right code depends on where the scar is, how big it is, and whether it hurts or is unstable. Several of these codes can apply to the same scar at once.
The codes
- 7800, head, face, or neck. Rated on eight listed characteristics of disfigurement, things like a scar 5 inches or longer, a scar at least one-quarter inch wide, surface contour that is elevated or depressed, adherent to underlying tissue, abnormal skin texture or color over a large area, missing underlying soft tissue, or hardened skin. More characteristics, and visible tissue loss or distorted features, drive ratings of 10, 30, 50, or 80 percent.
- 7801, deep and nonlinear scars not of the head, face, or neck. Deep means there is underlying soft-tissue damage. Rated by area: at least 6 square inches is 10 percent, 12 is 20 percent, 72 is 30 percent, and 144 or more is 40 percent.
- 7802, superficial nonlinear scars not of the head, face, or neck. An area of 144 square inches or more is 10 percent.
- 7804, unstable or painful scars. One or two such scars is 10 percent, three or four is 20 percent, five or more is 30 percent. Unstable means the skin covering repeatedly breaks down.
- 7805, other effects. Any disabling effect not captured above, such as a scar that limits the motion of a joint, is rated under the appropriate code for that effect.
Stacking is allowed when the codes measure different things
A single painful, deep scar over a knee can earn a rating under 7804 (because it is painful), and under 7801 (for its area), and under 7805 (if it limits the knee). These are different disabling effects, so combining them is not pyramiding under 38 CFR 4.14.
Common rating details veterans overlook
- A painful scar rates 10 percent even if it is tiny. Size does not matter for 7804; pain or instability does.
- Painful scars add up. Three or four painful scars is 20 percent; five or more is 30 percent.
- You can stack codes on one scar when each measures a different effect: pain, area, and lost function.
- Head, face, and neck use the eight characteristics, so a detailed exam describing contour, texture, color, and tissue loss matters.
- A scar that limits a joint gets that joint's rating too, under 7805, on top of the scar rating.