Paralysis of the musculospiral nerve (radial nerve) DC 8514
VA rates it under diagnostic code 8514 in 38 CFR 4.124a. Body system: Head & nerves.
How VA rates it
The schedule allows 6 rating levels for this code: 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%. VA picks the level whose criteria best match your symptoms and records.
It affects one arm, so each side is rated on its own. When both sides are rated, VA adds the bilateral factor (38 CFR 4.26).
Source: 38 CFR 4.124a on eCFR. Read the full criteria there before you file.
Rating levels and criteria
| Rating | What the schedule says |
|---|---|
| 70%60% minor | Complete; drop of hand and fingers, wrist and fingers perpetually flexed, the thumb adducted falling within the line of the outer border of the index finger; can not extend hand at wrist, extend proximal phalanges of fingers, extend thumb, or make lateral movement of wrist; supination of hand, extension and flexion of elbow weakened, the loss of synergic motion of extensors impairs the hand grip seriously; total paralysis of the triceps occurs only as the greatest rarity |
| 50%40% minor | Incomplete:Severe |
| 30%20% minor | Incomplete:Moderate |
| 20% | Incomplete:Mild |
Where two ratings are shown, the first is for your major (dominant) arm and the second for the minor arm (38 CFR 4.69).
Criteria text from 38 CFR 4.124a, eCFR as of November 10, 2026. The eCFR is the official source if anything here differs.
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Rating schedule data as of November 10, 2026. Secondary and presumptive links checked November 13, 2026.
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