RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	CASE:  PD-2017-00676
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  Marine Corps 	SEPARATION DATE:  20070815

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E6, Motor Transport Chief, medically separated for “exertional compartment syndrome, left lower extremity (LLE)” with a disability rating of 10%.  

CI CONTENTION:  Review of all conditions requested.  The complete submission is at Exhibit A.  

SCOPE OF REVIEW:  The panel’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44.  It is limited to review of disability ratings assigned to those conditions determined by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be unfitting for continued military service, and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), but determined by the PEB to be not unfitting or non-compensable.  Any conditions outside the panel’s defined scope of review, and any contention not requested in this application, may remain eligible for future consideration by the Board for Correction of Military Records.  The panel’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections when appropriate.  The panel’s assessment of the PEB rating determination is based on review of medical records and all available evidence relevant to application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards for the unfitting medical condition(s) at the time of separation.  The panel has neither the role nor the authority to compensate for post-separation progression or complications of service-connected conditions; that role and authority is granted by Congress to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates under a different set of laws.  The panel gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of disability at the time of separation.  

RATING COMPARISON:  

SERVICE PEB - 20070430	VARD - 20080118	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating	Exam	
LLE Exertional Compartment Syndrome 	5399-5312	10%	Post-Operative Scar, Residual of Compartment Syndrome Surgery, LLE	7805	0%	20070727	
			Shin Splints and Ankle Pain, LLE	5262-5271	NSC	STR	
Left Shoulder Arthroscopy with Debridement and Repair of Type I Slap Tear	Cat III	Residuals of Left Shoulder Tear	5201	10%	20070727	
COMBINED RATING:  10%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS:  30%	

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:  

LLE Exertional Compartment Syndrome.  According to the service treatment record (STR) and MEB narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI’s left leg condition began in October 2004 after no specific event.  Constant leg pain continued and increased with running; the CI underwent a fasciotomy for exertional compartment syndrome in November 2005.  The 30 January 2007 MEB NARSUM examination, 7 months prior to separation, noted complaints of minimal left lower leg pain with running one and a half miles.  Physical examination showed no tenderness over the left lower leg at the site of surgery.  

At the 27 July 2007 VA Compensation and Pension (C&P) examination, one month before separation, the CI reported ankle pain with prolonged walking.  Physical examination showed lower left leg surgical scar without additional leg abnormalities.  

The panel directed attention to its rating recommendation based on the above evidence.  The PEB rated the LLE exertional compartment syndrome 10%, analogously coded 5312 (Muscle Injury Moderate: Group XII).  The VA rated the scar residual of LLE compartment surgery, 0%, coded 7805 (scars), based on the STR and C&P examination, citing prior bilateral compartment syndrome of the calves with surgical intervention on the left and a resulting scar, but no other residuals.  Panel members agreed the evidence did not support a rating analogous to a moderately severe muscle injury for a 20% rating.  After due deliberation, considering all the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the panel concluded there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB adjudication for the LLE exertional compartment syndrome.  

Contended PEB Condition:  Left Shoulder.  The panel’s main charge is to assess the fairness of the PEB determination that the contended condition was not unfitting.  The contended condition was implicated in the non-medical assessment and judged to fail retention standards.  There was minimal performance-based evidence from the record that the condition significantly interfered with satisfactory duty performance at separation.  After due deliberation, the panel concluded there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB fitness determination for the contended condition, so no additional disability rating is recommended.  

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the LLE exertional compartment syndrome and IAW VASRD §4.73, the panel recommends no change in the PEB adjudication.  In the matter of the contended left shoulder condition, the panel recommends no change from the PEB determination as not unfitting.  There are no other conditions within the panel’s scope of review for consideration.  Therefore, the panel recommends no modification or re-characterization of the CI’s disability and separation determination.  

AR20190001310, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

	The Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review (DoD PDBR) reviewed your application and found your separation disability rating and your separation from the Army for disability with severance pay to be accurate.  I have reviewed the Board’s recommendation and record of proceedings (copy enclosed), and I accept its recommendation.  I regret to inform you that your application to the DoD PDBR is denied.  

	This decision is final.  Recourse within the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army is exhausted; however, you have the option to seek relief by filing suit in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.