Thought of the Day: Symptom or Secondary Condition?

When the VA rates a "secondary condition," it can mean a few things. We often think of it in the context of the Veteran developing a condition as the result of another service-connected condition. However, the VA sometimes will treat disabilities as secondary conditions when really, they are just symptoms. Best example is diabetes. A Veteran might claim diabetes on a claim for and the VA might rate them at 20% disabled because they take insulin, but then completely overlook things like diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, frequent urination, and other things that might just seem like symptoms otherwise. Why is this important? When you put in a claim for a complicated condition like diabetes, or traumatic brain injury, or Parkinson's disease, it's important to also identify other symptoms you are having so that the VA can properly assess a rating. #vadisability #veterans