Varicose Veins VA Rating

Varicose veins are coded under 38 CFR § 4.104, DC 7120, which since November 14, 2021 says to evaluate them under the criteria of DC 7121. There's no seven-code stacking puzzle here like there is with the knee. The rating turns on one distinction, and almost everything in the file should be aimed at that distinction. Is the edema persistent or intermittent? That single word decides whether you sit at 10 percent or jump to 20 and up.

The criteria read like a ladder of skin and swelling findings. At the bottom is asymptomatic varicosity that you can see or feel but that does nothing functionally. One rung up is intermittent edema, or aching and fatigue after prolonged standing or walking, relieved by elevation or compression hosiery. That's the 10 percent world. The jump to 20 percent is the word "persistent": edema that does not fully resolve when you elevate the leg. From there the ladder climbs through stasis pigmentation, eczema, and ulceration, ending at massive board-like edema with constant pain at rest at 100 percent.

The other thing to understand up front is that each leg is its own claim. DC 7120 rates a single extremity, so a veteran with bilateral varicose veins gets two separate ratings, and when both legs are rated at 10 percent or more, the bilateral factor under 38 CFR § 4.26 adds 10 percent of the combined value. This page walks through the DC 7120 tiers and what they pay, the persistent-versus-intermittent line, how to prove service connection, what a C&P examiner has to actually look at and photograph, the secondary chains into chronic venous insufficiency, stasis dermatitis, and post-DVT residuals, and why VA denies these claims.

TL;DR

• Varicose veins are coded under 38 CFR § 4.104, DC 7120, which points to the DC 7121 ladder from 0 to 100 percent, with each leg rated separately.
• The decisive lever is persistent versus intermittent edema. Intermittent edema relieved by elevation or compression caps at 10 percent. Persistent edema that elevation does not fully relieve starts at 20 percent.
• Higher tiers add skin findings: beginning stasis pigmentation or eczema can appear at 20 percent, stasis pigmentation or eczema (with or without intermittent ulceration) sets the 40 percent tier, persistent ulceration sets the 60 percent tier, and massive board-like edema with constant pain at rest is 100 percent.
• The bilateral factor under 38 CFR § 4.26 adds 10 percent of the combined value when both legs are rated at 10 percent or more.
• Document elevation use, compression hosiery use, standing and walking tolerance, and skin changes. Photographs of pigmentation, eczema, and ulcers carry real weight.
• Varicose veins are not a presumptive condition. Service connection has to be shown directly, through aggravation of veins noted when you entered service, or as secondary to another service-connected condition.
• Secondary chains under 38 CFR § 3.310 run to chronic venous insufficiency, stasis dermatitis, and residuals of deep vein thrombosis (DVT, rated under DC 7121).
• Across 2,070 decided Board rulings on varicose veins from 2021 to 2026, 20.0% were granted, 31.4% denied and 48.7% remanded. A ruling is one issue the Board decided in one decision; one decision often rules on several issues. Remand is the most common outcome, and the grant rate is 4.7 points below the Board-wide 24.7%.
• When the Board sends a varicose vein claim back, the most common reason is an inadequate VA exam or opinion. For the rating, the exam has to pin down the persistent-versus-intermittent question and the skin findings.

Varicose veins VA rating criteria (DC 7120 and DC 7121)

The varicose vein criteria under 38 CFR § 4.104 are a single graduated scale. Since November 14, 2021, DC 7120 itself reads only "Evaluate under diagnostic code 7121," so the ladder is the DC 7121 text, applied to findings attributed to venous disease. Here is the regulatory ladder, rated for the involvement of a single extremity.

Massive board-like edema with constant pain at rest, 100% Persistent edema or subcutaneous induration, stasis pigmentation or eczema, and persistent ulceration, 60% Persistent edema and stasis pigmentation or eczema, with or without intermittent ulceration, 40% Persistent edema, incompletely relieved by elevation of extremity, with or without beginning stasis pigmentation or eczema, 20% Intermittent edema of extremity or aching and fatigue in leg after prolonged standing or walking, with symptoms relieved by elevation of extremity or compression hosiery, 10% Asymptomatic palpable or visible varicose veins, 0%

A few things to read carefully here. The note under DC 7121 directs that these evaluations are for involvement of a single extremity. If more than one extremity is involved, each is evaluated separately and combined under the combined ratings table, with the bilateral factor applied where it fits.

The 0 percent tier is the visible-but-quiet picture: you can see the rope-like veins or palpate them, but they aren't producing edema, aching, or skin change. A lot of veterans assume cosmetic varicosity is worth something. By the regulation, asymptomatic varicose veins are service-connectable but noncompensable.

The 10 percent tier is the first paying rung. It captures either intermittent edema or the aching-and-fatigue presentation after prolonged standing or walking, with the key qualifier that the symptoms are relieved by elevation or by compression hosiery. The fact that you wear compression stockings and they help is, by the text of the regulation, consistent with the 10 percent tier rather than a higher one.

The 20 percent tier is where the rating mechanics get serious, and it is covered in its own section below because it is the most common pivot point in these claims.

How much VA pays for varicose veins

VA pays by your combined rating, not leg by leg. Using VA's rates effective December 1, 2025 (the 2026 rates) for a veteran with no dependents, one leg rated alone pays $180.42 a month at 10 percent, $356.66 at 20 percent, $795.84 at 40 percent, $1,435.02 at 60 percent, and $3,938.58 at 100 percent. Two legs at 20 percent each combine to 36, the bilateral factor brings that to 39.6, and the result rounds to a 40 percent rating, $795.84 a month if that were your only rating. From 30 percent up, a spouse, children or dependent parents add to the monthly amount.

Persistent vs intermittent edema: the line between 10 and 20 percent

The single biggest swing in a varicose vein rating is the line between the 10 percent tier and the 20 percent tier. The regulation draws that line with one word: persistent.

At 10 percent, the edema is intermittent. It comes and goes, and crucially it is relieved by elevation or compression. You put your leg up, the swelling goes down. You wear the stockings, the aching is manageable.

At 20 percent, the edema is persistent and "incompletely relieved by elevation of extremity." The swelling is there most of the time, and putting the leg up does not make it fully resolve. The 20 percent tier also picks up the early skin changes ("with or without beginning stasis pigmentation or eczema"), but the load-bearing element is the persistence of the edema.

This matters because the typical C&P exam captures one day and one snapshot. An examiner who measures a leg in the morning, sees mild swelling, and notes "edema present, relieved with elevation" has effectively written a 10 percent exam, whether or not the veteran's actual lived pattern is persistent. If the swelling is there at the end of every workday, does not go away overnight, and only partially responds to elevation, that is a 20 percent picture, and the record has to say so.

The evidence that pushes a claim from intermittent to persistent is rarely the single exam. It is the longitudinal record: treatment notes describing chronic swelling across multiple visits, the veteran's own log of daily edema, photographs taken at different times of day, and a clear statement of how the leg responds to elevation. When the file shows swelling that persists despite elevation, the 20 percent tier is on the table. When the file shows swelling that resolves with elevation, it is not.

I want to be precise about a limit in the data here. The Claim Raven Board read codes the overall outcome of each ruling, not the specific DC 7120 tier assigned. So I can describe this lever qualitatively from the regulation, but I cannot read a "10 percent versus 20 percent" split directly out of the numbers. What I can see is that appeals for a higher rating were granted somewhat more often than service connection appeals; the Board section below breaks the results down by what the appeal asked for.

Stasis pigmentation, eczema and ulcers: the 40, 60 and 100 percent ratings

Above 20 percent, the rating is driven by skin findings layered on top of persistent edema.

Stasis pigmentation and eczema (40 percent). The 40 percent tier requires persistent edema and stasis pigmentation or eczema, with or without intermittent ulceration. Stasis pigmentation is the brownish discoloration around the lower leg and ankle that develops when high pressure in the veins pushes red blood cells into the skin, leaving iron-containing pigment (hemosiderin) behind. Stasis eczema (also called stasis dermatitis) is inflamed, irritated skin over the same area, driven by the chronic inflammation of venous disease. These are objective, photographable findings. The presence of either one, on top of persistent edema, is what separates the 40 percent picture from the 20 percent picture.

Persistent ulceration (60 percent). The jump to 60 percent requires the full set: persistent edema or subcutaneous induration, stasis pigmentation or eczema, and persistent ulceration. Venous ulcers are open wounds on the lower leg that recur or fail to heal; untreated venous disease can progress to them. The distinction between the 40 and 60 percent tiers is the word "intermittent" versus "persistent" applied to the ulceration. Intermittent ulceration sits within the 40 percent criteria; persistent ulceration, combined with the other findings, is the 60 percent picture.

Massive board-like edema with constant pain at rest (100 percent). The top of the ladder is reserved for severe, fixed swelling so dense the tissue feels board-like, with pain that is present even at rest.

The practical point across all of these higher tiers is that they are won or lost on documentation of skin change. Pigmentation and ulceration are visible. A treatment record that describes "hyperpigmentation of the bilateral lower extremities" or "recurrent venous stasis ulcer, medial left ankle, ongoing wound care" is doing more rating work than any number of subjective complaints. Photographs over time are some of the strongest evidence a veteran can put in the file because they let a rater or Board member see the persistence and severity directly.

Bilateral varicose veins and the bilateral factor

Because DC 7120 rates a single extremity, varicose veins are a textbook application of the bilateral factor when both legs are involved. The regulation reads as follows.

"Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, when a partial disability results from disease or injury of both arms, or of both legs, or of paired skeletal muscles, the ratings for the disabilities of the right and left sides will be combined as usual, and 10 percent of this value will be added (i.e., not combined) before proceeding with further combinations, or converting to degree of disability."

The mechanics: rate each leg separately under DC 7120, combine the two leg ratings using the regular combined ratings table under 38 CFR § 4.25, then add 10 percent of that combined value arithmetically before the result combines with the rest of the veteran's ratings.

Example. A veteran with 20 percent in each leg. Combining 20 and 20 on the table: 20 + (80 × 0.20) = 36. Add 10 percent of 36, which is 3.6, for a bilateral-adjusted value of 39.6. That number then enters the overall combined rating with everything else before final rounding.

A couple of points that get missed. The 10 percent addition runs on the combined value, not on each leg, and it is a one-time add for the whole bilateral set. It applies whenever both legs carry compensable ratings, even if the two ratings are different, such as 10 percent on one leg and 40 percent on the other, and under § 4.26(a) the two ratings do not even have to be for the same condition. A 0 percent leg does not count, because § 4.26(c) requires a compensable disability in each of the paired extremities. The one exception is § 4.26(d): if leaving a disability out of the bilateral calculation produces a higher combined rating, VA must use the more favorable result. The factor matters most near rounding thresholds, where a few points can be the difference between an 80 and a 90 percent combined rating.

How to prove varicose veins are service connected

Every varicose vein claim needs a current diagnosis. After that, the evidence depends on the route.

Direct service connection

Direct service connection needs evidence of the current condition, something in service, and a medical link between them. Treatment records showing leg swelling, aching or visible veins during service, and your own account of when the symptoms started, cover the in-service part. The link is where these claims usually break down. Varicose veins are common and become more common with age, and a family history raises the risk. In the Edinburgh Vein Study, which followed a random sample of adults for 13 years, new varicose veins became more common in each older age group, and people with a family history of venous disease were more likely to develop them. An examiner will ask why service, and not age or family history, explains your veins, so the medical opinion has to answer that directly.

Varicose veins noted when you entered service

If varicose veins were recorded on your entrance exam, VA treats them as existing before service, and the question becomes aggravation. Under 38 CFR § 3.306, a preexisting condition that increased in disability during service is presumed aggravated by service unless there is a specific finding that the increase was due to the natural progress of the disease. If they were not recorded at entrance, § 3.304(b) presumes you entered service in sound condition, and VA can rebut that only with clear and unmistakable evidence that the veins existed before service and were not aggravated by it.

Varicose veins secondary to another service-connected condition

Under 38 CFR § 3.310, varicose veins or venous insufficiency can be service connected if a service-connected condition caused them, or aggravated them, meaning they would be less severe but for that condition. A service-connected deep vein thrombosis is the clearest example: venous damage after a clot is a recognized cause of chronic venous disease, and the DVT section below covers how those residuals are rated. Veterans also claim varicose veins secondary to knee, ankle and foot conditions, diabetes, and hypertension. Those opinions have to explain how the condition affected the veins, not just point to the same leg or a shared risk factor, and they have to address aggravation as well as causation.

The varicose veins C&P exam (Artery and Vein Conditions DBQ)

VA examines varicose veins with the Artery and Vein Conditions DBQ. Unlike a knee exam, there is no goniometer and no range-of-motion math. The findings the examiner is supposed to capture map almost one-to-one onto the DC 7120 ladder.

• Presence, location, and extent of visible or palpable varicose veins, in each leg
• Edema, whether it is present, and critically whether it is intermittent or persistent
• Whether elevation relieves the edema, and whether that relief is complete or incomplete
• Use of compression hosiery and its effect
• Stasis pigmentation, described and located
• Eczema or stasis dermatitis
• Ulceration, including whether it is intermittent or persistent and whether it is currently active or healed
• Subcutaneous induration and any board-like edema
• Pain, including whether pain is present at rest
• Tolerance for prolonged standing and walking, and functional impact

The exam is the rating engine. When the report addresses each of these, the rater has the facts to place the leg on the correct rung. When the report is sparse, the rater defaults downward. The most consequential omission is an exam that records edema without resolving the persistent-versus-intermittent question, or that records skin discoloration without calling it stasis pigmentation. Each missing element is a potential opening for a tier that did not get assigned the first time.

Two examiner habits in particular produce inadequate exams. First, examining the leg without the veteran having been on their feet, so the swelling is at its minimum and the persistent pattern never shows. Second, failing to photograph or precisely describe the skin findings, leaving a rater to guess whether brown discoloration is stasis pigmentation or something incidental.

Secondary conditions to varicose veins

Under 38 CFR § 3.310, secondary service connection can be granted for a condition caused by a service-connected condition or aggravated by one (Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995)). Varicose veins sit at the front of a venous-disease chain.

Chronic venous insufficiency

Varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency are part of the same underlying process: high pressure in the leg veins, from failing valves and a weak calf muscle pump, drives the whole range from visible veins to skin change and ulcers. In the Edinburgh Vein Study, about a third of people who had only varicose veins at the start had developed chronic venous insufficiency 13 years later. The line between "varicose veins" and "chronic venous insufficiency" can blur in the medical record. Where the insufficiency is the broader documented diagnosis, the rating still flows through the same DC 7121 criteria, because the criteria themselves describe the downstream venous findings (edema, stasis pigmentation, ulceration).

Stasis dermatitis and eczema

The eczema/dermatitis over the lower leg is both a criterion inside DC 7120 and, in some records, a separately documented skin condition. Where it is rated as part of the varicose vein picture under DC 7120, it should not also be separately rated as a skin disease under the dermatology codes, because that would rate the same impairment twice under the pyramiding rule, 38 CFR § 4.14. The relationship to eczema claims is worth understanding for exactly this reason.

Deep vein thrombosis residuals (DC 7121)

A history of DVT is the most important chain to flag. Post-thrombotic syndrome, the chronic venous damage that follows a clot (pain, swelling, skin changes and ulcers), is rated under DC 7121 (post-phlebitic syndrome of any etiology), the same ladder VA now uses for varicose veins. In the Edinburgh Vein Study, a history of DVT also raised the risk that existing venous disease would get worse. A veteran with both a varicose vein history and a documented DVT may have residuals rated under DC 7121. Pyramiding rules mean the same edema and skin findings cannot be rated twice, so the question becomes which code captures the impairment, not whether to apply both to the same findings.

The standard for a nexus opinion on any of these chains is the same one that governs every secondary claim. The opinion has to identify the mechanism, address the time course, and rule out other causes. It also has to address aggravation: an opinion that says only "not caused by" without asking whether the service-connected condition made the other one worse is inadequate (El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013)). A bare "venous insufficiency is secondary to varicose veins" without rationale is not probative. A factually accurate, fully articulated opinion based on sound reasoning carries the case.

Why VA denies varicose veins claims

Varicose vein claims do a little worse at the Board than the average claim. Across 2,070 decided Board rulings on varicose veins from 2021 to 2026, 20.0% were granted, 31.4% denied and 48.7% remanded, so remand is the most common outcome. That grant rate is 4.7 points below the Board-wide 24.7 percent.

When the Board denied varicose vein service connection, it most often found no link to service, and often no in-service event; a missing current diagnosis came up less often. Rating denials and remands turn on the evidence gaps below.

No medical link to service. The opinion does not explain why service, rather than age or family history, accounts for the veins, or there is no opinion at all.

Nothing in service. Service treatment records are silent, or the veins were noted at entrance and nothing shows they got worse during service.

The exam never resolves persistent versus intermittent. This is the recurring rating problem. The examiner notes edema, but the report does not state whether the swelling persists or whether elevation fully relieves it. Without that finding in the exam or the treatment records, the rater has no basis to go above 10 percent, even when the longitudinal record suggests a persistent pattern. The Board sends these back to ask the examiner the question directly.

No photographs of skin change. Stasis pigmentation, eczema, and ulceration are visible, and they drive the 40 and 60 percent tiers. When the file describes "discoloration" in vague terms and contains no photographs, the higher tiers become hard to support. Dated photographs across time are some of the most underused evidence in these claims.

No documentation of compression and elevation use. The regulation builds elevation and compression hosiery directly into the criteria. A record that does not document what the veteran does to manage the swelling, and how the leg responds, leaves the persistent-versus-intermittent question unanswered. A simple log of daily compression use and the leg's response to elevation does real work.

Each leg not separately developed. Because DC 7120 rates a single extremity, a record that treats "bilateral varicose veins" as one undifferentiated problem can produce a single rating where two were warranted, and can leave the bilateral factor on the table. The exam should describe each leg on its own terms.

DVT history not connected. A documented clot history that never gets tied to current venous findings can leave a DC 7121 post-thrombotic residual unrated, or leave a nexus argument undeveloped.

When the Board sends a varicose vein claim back instead of deciding it, the most common reason is an inadequate VA exam or opinion, followed by records VA still had to get. When the Board credited a favorable medical opinion, it granted the claim; when the only opinion was against the claim, it almost never did. The Board section below shows how often each denial and remand reason came up, what happened after a remand, what the Board did with medical opinions, and how direct, secondary and presumptive claims have fared.

Evidence that wins a higher varicose veins rating

The varicose vein claim is conceptually simple and practically slippery. The rating lives almost entirely in two questions: is the edema persistent or intermittent, and what skin findings are present. Aim the entire evidentiary effort at those two questions.

For the edema question, the goal is to show the swelling at its real-world worst and to show that elevation does not fully relieve it. That means a treatment record across multiple visits, the veteran's own log of daily swelling, and photographs taken at the end of a day on the feet rather than first thing in the morning. An evidence checklist for venous claims should separate the edema lane from the skin-findings lane.

For the skin findings, dated photographs of pigmentation, eczema, and any ulceration are the strongest proof. Combine them with treatment notes that name the findings precisely, "stasis pigmentation," "venous stasis ulcer," "stasis dermatitis," rather than generic "discoloration."

Before the exam, use C&P exam prep for the artery and vein DBQ and track daily swelling, compression use, and standing tolerance. Ask the examiner to address persistence of edema, completeness of relief with elevation, and each skin finding by name. If both legs are involved, confirm each leg is examined and described separately, and check the secondary conditions tool for the venous insufficiency and post-DVT chains.

Questions veterans ask about varicose veins

Are varicose veins a VA disability?

Yes. Varicose veins can be service connected and are rated under DC 7120, which uses the DC 7121 criteria. Visible veins with no symptoms rate 0 percent, and swelling, aching after standing, skin changes and ulcers rate from 10 to 100 percent, one leg at a time.

Does VA rate varicose veins in both legs separately?

Yes. Each leg gets its own rating, and the two are combined. When both legs are rated at 10 percent or more, the bilateral factor adds 10 percent of the combined leg value before it combines with your other ratings.

What is the VA rating for venous insufficiency?

Venous insufficiency is rated on the same DC 7121 criteria as varicose veins, which cover findings attributed to venous disease of any cause. The rating depends on edema, skin changes and ulcers in each leg, from 0 to 100 percent.

What is the VA rating for edema in the legs?

When the swelling comes from venous disease, intermittent edema relieved by elevation or compression hosiery rates 10 percent, persistent edema incompletely relieved by elevation rates 20 percent, and massive board-like edema with constant pain at rest rates 100 percent. Edema from another cause is rated as part of the condition causing it.

Are varicose veins a presumptive condition for VA?

No. Varicose veins are not on VA's chronic disease list in § 3.309(a) or on the exposure lists, so service connection has to be shown directly, through aggravation of veins noted when you entered service, or as secondary to another service-connected condition. Claims argued on a presumption fared worst at the Board.

Can I get a VA rating for varicose veins and DVT?

Only for different findings. Post-thrombotic residuals of a DVT are rated under DC 7121, the same ladder used for varicose veins, and § 4.14 bars rating the same edema or skin changes twice. If the findings in a leg come from both, the question is which code captures them, not whether to apply both.

Bottom Line

Varicose vein ratings at the VA aren't a stacking puzzle. They are a single ladder under DC 7120, and almost the entire dispute lives on one rung: whether your edema is persistent or intermittent. Intermittent edema relieved by elevation or compression caps at 10 percent. Persistent edema that elevation does not fully relieve starts at 20 percent, and the higher tiers are built on documented skin change, stasis pigmentation, eczema, and ulceration. Each leg is rated on its own, and the bilateral factor adds 10 percent of the combined value when both legs are rated at 10 percent or more. Service connection needs a medical opinion that explains why service, not age or family history, accounts for the veins. The cases that succeed at the Board tend to have a longitudinal record and photographs that show the persistence of the swelling and the reality of the skin findings, rather than a single morning exam that catches the leg at its best. Same condition, different paper trail, different outcome.

Related Conditions

Varicose vein claims commonly connect to peripheral vascular disease and heart disease because they share the cardiovascular rating section of § 4.104 and the same proof issues around edema and circulation. The stasis dermatitis that drives the higher DC 7120 tiers overlaps with eczema claims, and the pyramiding question of whether a skin finding is rated inside the venous code or separately. Veterans with both legs involved should review the secondary conditions tool and bilateral-factor math before assuming a single leg rating tells the whole story, and the combined rating calculator shows how the leg ratings combine.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: Rating criteria quoted from 38 CFR § 4.104, DC 7121 (post-phlebitic syndrome of any etiology), which DC 7120 has directed raters to use since November 14, 2021 (the cardiovascular final rule, 86 FR 54089, effective that date). Bilateral factor from § 4.26. Pyramiding from § 4.14. Combined ratings math from § 4.25. Presumption of soundness and aggravation from §§ 3.304(b) and 3.306, the chronic disease list from § 3.309(a), and secondary service connection from § 3.310. Case law on secondary aggravation from Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995), and on inadequate opinions from El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013). Pay amounts from VA's compensation rates effective December 1, 2025.
• Medical sources: Venous hypertension and the spectrum from varicose veins to ulcers from Kumar, "Chronic venous disease. Part 1: pathophysiology and clinical features," Clinical and Experimental Dermatology (2022). Pigmentation from Tiwary, "Assessment and grading of pigmentation in chronic venous insufficiency," Phlebology (2020). Post-thrombotic syndrome from Meissner, "Secondary chronic venous disorders," Journal of Vascular Surgery (2007). Age and family history from Robertson, "Incidence of chronic venous disease in the Edinburgh Vein Study," Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders (2013), and progression to venous insufficiency and the DVT risk from Lee, "Progression of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency in the general population in the Edinburgh Vein Study," same journal (2015).
• Board snapshot: Claim Raven's read of every Board decision from 2021 to 2026 that it holds covers 2,070 decided Board rulings on varicose veins: 20.0% granted (including partial grants and mixed outcomes), 31.4% denied, and 48.7% remanded. Dismissed, withdrawn and moot rulings are excluded. These are appealed claims, not your personal odds.
• Sample size: Patterns in this post are drawn from Claim Raven's read of 511,036 Board decisions from 2021 to 2026 containing 1,378,030 rulings, including 2,236 Board rulings on varicose veins (2,070 with decided outcomes). Among the decided rulings, outcomes ran 48.7% remanded, 20.0% granted, and 31.4% denied. The read captures overall outcome rather than the specific DC 7120 tier assigned. It does record the reasons the Board gave for denials and remands, which the Board section below shows.
• Classification approach: Diagnostic code definitions drawn from the regulatory text. Tier analysis follows the persistent-versus-intermittent and skin-finding structure of DC 7120. Compensation math uses the VA combined ratings table.
• Limitations:
• The read codes overall outcome, not the per-tier (10 percent versus 20 percent versus higher) breakdown, so tier-level analysis here is qualitative and drawn from the regulation and the language of Board decisions.
• Worked examples use approximate rating values to illustrate the bilateral-factor math.
• The line between "varicose veins" under DC 7120 and "chronic venous insufficiency" or "post-phlebitic syndrome" under DC 7121 can blur in the medical record, and rating practice varies on which code captures a given set of findings.
• Selection bias: BVA-level patterns reflect cases that appealed. Most varicose vein claims resolve at the RO level and aren't in any BVA dataset.
• These observations reflect patterns from the regulatory text, case law, and BVA decisions. They are not predictions of individual outcomes.