[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 38, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 38CFR4.26]

[Page 377]
 
            TITLE 38--PENSIONS, BONUSES, AND VETERANS' RELIEF
 
                CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
 
PART 4_SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES--Table of Contents
 
                   Subpart A_General Policy in Rating
 
Sec.  4.26  Bilateral factor.

    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 bilateral factor will be applied to such bilateral 
disabilities before other combinations are carried out and the rating 
for such disabilities including the bilateral factor in this section 
will be treated as 1 disability for the purpose of arranging in order of 
severity and for all further combinations. For example, with 
disabilities evaluated at 60 percent, 20 percent, 10 percent and 10 
percent (the two 10's representing bilateral disabilities), the order of 
severity would be 60, 21 and 20. The 60 and 21 combine to 68 percent and 
the 68 and 20 to 74 percent, converted to 70 percent as the final degree 
of disability.
    (a) The use of the terms ``arms'' and ``legs'' is not intended to 
distinguish between the arm, forearm and hand, or the thigh, leg, and 
foot, but relates to the upper extremities and lower extremities as a 
whole. Thus with a compensable disability of the right thigh, for 
example, amputation, and one of the left foot, for example, pes planus, 
the bilateral factor applies, and similarly whenever there are 
compensable disabilities affecting use of paired extremities regardless 
of location or specified type of impairment.
    (b) The correct procedure when applying the bilateral factor to 
disabilities affecting both upper extremities and both lower extremities 
is to combine the ratings of the disabilities affecting the 4 
extremities in the order of their individual severity and apply the 
bilateral factor by adding, not combining, 10 percent of the combined 
value thus attained.
    (c) The bilateral factor is not applicable unless there is partial 
disability of compensable degree in each of 2 paired extremities, or 
paired skeletal muscles.

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