# VAC Claim help please. PTSD+Compartment Syndrome+Cubital tunnel syndrome=3b



## Armytec (24 Mar 2014)

First a little background and a thank you for any help/info in advance
. I had Bi fasciotomy surgery to correct Chronic compartment syndrome in both legs in 2011 by Dr Bardanna in Kingston Ontario. I was suffering from numbness in both feet as well as foot drop. 

I did not at the time chose to seek a VAC award as I was hoping to put the surgery behind me and carry on. 

Recently after two back to back deployments separated by less then 2 months back in Canada(7 Month Roto 8 TFK(May Dec 2009) followed by emergency deployment to Haiti in  Feb 2010 I've been diagnosed with PTSD , and Anxity and Major depression. 

Needless to say finances are alot more important now that I'm staring down a 3b(file is off to D med pol to issue Pcat or 3rd Tcat) and I'm trying with the help of JPSU/legion to fill out a VAC award application for the first time in my 18 year career.

Any info on what to expect from VAC regarding Compartment surgery on both legs would be great. The surgery is well documented in my med file and was directly related to service(I first complained to CDU/MIR about numbness after completing BFT, did the physio thing, multi MO apoints, saw the rock star compartment syndrome surgeon in Dr Bardanna and after a years wait(one more deployment and passing my PLQ) he preformed surgery on both legs.

Any info on final % or even better cash award amount would be great as i'm trying to budget my life post CAF, my PTSD diagnoses is new this year so I know I have a wait and a fight ahead of me there. The friendly local VAC rep told me everyone gets 10% to start etc. 

Feel free to contact me directly if you need more info on my individual case, I'm at the point in my life where while my medical status is personal I'm not afraid or ashamed to share if it means I can get pointed in the right direction.


----------



## Armytec (24 Mar 2014)

Let me begin by posting two related topics so closely together, I thought it best I not overwhelm my previous post with a mountain of text and while all three diganosed condions I recieved while serving will be included in my VAC claim this latest one is the hardest to find via the search here or google to find info on. 


I've suffered from numbness in the 4th and fifth fingers(ring and pinky) in both hands and it's more pronounced after waking up in the AM or after extended typing/talking on the phone(directly related to bending my elbows)

I'm a electronics tech by trade so thereore keyboards, phones are part of my day to day. My problem is I've gone thru the VAC disabilites book and only find info related to Carpal tunnel syndrome , very similar in nature but not quite the same.

Wondering if anyone else went the Cubital tunnel syndrome route.


----------



## The_Falcon (25 Mar 2014)

I had the same problem and had the surgery completed in 2005, all documented etc.  Submitted the claim to VAC shortly afterwards, several months later it was approved.  You won't get much, IIRC I was assessed at like 2% and received somewhere between $1000-2000 (I can't remember the specific amount, we are talking almost a decade ago).


----------



## stokerwes (25 Mar 2014)

Each case is different. I don't have any experience with your surgery but with regards to the PTSD  I can tell you how it went for me. After my application I was awarded an initial 10% with a followup eight months later if the condition stabilized. This, in my case, happened within the 16 week time frame. If you are awarded the 10% make sure you initiate contact with VAC after the eight months or however long they want you to wait. I waited for my follow up paperwork to arrive by mail as the decision letter stated and after waiting a few weeks past the eight months I called them. The paperwork hadn't even been looked at until I called so this pushed everything back to almost a year by the time I got into the Dr. I brought my wife to the followup she sees things a little differently than I do, maybe a little more truthfully. I felt it helped in my situation when the Dr. was asking me questions my wife had a lot of input as I tended to try and make things seem better than they really were.
Best of luck in your treatment and applications. It's a lot of hard work but it is definitely worth it. OSISS is a great resource as well as JPSU.


----------



## xo31@711ret (26 Mar 2014)

Just after I got out of the reserves (4 years reserves; previously retired 24+plus regs as an infanteer, then medic), I was diagnosed with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands and  moderate cubital tunnel syndrome both hands.Keep procrastinating & haven't put in a claim yet though......


----------



## Kat Stevens (26 Mar 2014)

Riiiiight... what's a cubit?


----------



## dapaterson (26 Mar 2014)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> Riiiiight... what's a cubit?



[Jello Pudding Pops]

How long can you tread water?

[/Jello Pudding Pops]


----------



## ArmyGuy99 (26 Mar 2014)

Kat,

Short Version:

The Ulnar Nerve is compressed in your elbow at the point we normally call the "Funny Bone".  Thereby causing the numbness in the forearm, hand and 4th and 5th digits

And I thought my numb feet were annoying.


----------



## CombatDoc (26 Mar 2014)

A cubit was an ancient Egyptian method of measurement, based on the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.  In this case, the cubital tunnel is where the ulnar nerve runs over the elbow, and is analogous to the median nerve and the carpal tunnel at the wrist.


----------



## Kat Stevens (26 Mar 2014)

ArmyDoc said:
			
		

> A cubit was an ancient Egyptian method of measurement, based on the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.  In this case, the cubital tunnel is where the ulnar nerve runs over the elbow, and is analogous to the median nerve and the carpal tunnel at the wrist.



I believe it was also key in the construction of an exceedingly large, sturdy vessel provided to house a vast assortment of flora and fauna, constructed by Russel Crowe.  It was a joke, are dap and I the only two old enough to remember Bill Cosby?


----------



## George Wallace (26 Mar 2014)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> I believe it was also key in the construction of an exceedingly large, sturdy vessel provided to house a vast assortment of flora and fauna, constructed by Russel Crowe.  It was a joke, are dap and I the only two old enough to remember Bill Cosby?



Of course.

"Riiight!  How about you let it rain for forty days and forty nights and wait for the sewers to back up?"


----------



## blackberet17 (24 Apr 2014)

Armytec said:
			
		

> Any info on what to expect from VAC regarding Compartment surgery on both legs would be great. The surgery is well documented in my med file and was directly related to service(I first complained to CDU/MIR about numbness after completing BFT, did the physio thing, multi MO apoints, saw the rock star compartment syndrome surgeon in Dr Bardanna and after a years wait(one more deployment and passing my PLQ) he preformed surgery on both legs.
> 
> Any info on final % or even better cash award amount would be great as i'm trying to budget my life post CAF, my PTSD diagnoses is new this year so I know I have a wait and a fight ahead of me there. The friendly local VAC rep told me everyone gets 10% to start etc.



Let's get back on topic, shall we? Although, Bill Cosby's "Noah" is very much one of my favourite sketches of his. 

Armytec, VAC can't determine your percentage (i.e. award amount) until it relates the condition(s) to service, and determines the relationship itself in fifths (1/5, 2/5, etc.).

Once that is determined, then the degree of disability is looked at.

PTSD and other psych conditions can be the most complicated ones to determine, aside from cardio-respiratory conditions. Chapter 21 of the 2006 Table of Disabilities (http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/services/after-injury/disability-benefits/benefits-determined/table-of-disabilities/ch-21-2006) has four tables used to assess psych conditions, with Tables 21.1 and 21.2 having two and three columns for weighing the psych condition symptoms/effects "individually".

Once the assessment under Chapter 21 is complete, it's over to Chapter 2, IOT take into account all of the condition's(s') effect(s) on your overall quality of life.

As noted by one of the other posters, 10% is the base assessment awarded (currently "worth" $30 127.53). A further assessment is completed by the Department, based on all of the available medical documentation, plus any new reports you or your psychologist/psychiatrist send in.

2014 Disability Award Rate Table (http://www.veterans.gc.ca/pdf/services/disability-award/disaward_14.pdf)

For your other conditions, it's a similar process. Award of entitlement in fifths, then % is assessed.

Compartment syndrome could be assessed under Chapter 17, Table 17.9 - Loss of Function - Lower Limb.

Cubital tunnel syndrome (although possibly different from carpal) could be assessed under Chapter 17, Table 17.3 - Loss of Function - Upper Limb - Elbow (going on MedTech32's point of the ulnar nerve and elbow), or as the effects are felt in your fingers it oculd be under Table 17.5 - Loss of Function - Upper Limb - Thumb and Fingers.

Once the percentage there is determined, it goes under Chapter 2 for the Quality of Life ratings, just as I described for the psych assessments.

Hope that's helpful. Let me know if you have further questions!

Now, back to poor Noah...
He had a heckuva job really. He had to go out and collect all the animals in the world, by two's. And he he had to keep telling the rabbits, "Only two, only two, only two."


----------

