VA Disability Rating for Benign Bone Growths
Diagnostic Code 5015 · 38 CFR §4.71a
What Is It?
Diagnostic code 5015 assigns no percentage of its own. In 38 CFR 4.71a it appears as a bare line — 'Bones, neoplasm, benign' — inside the block of codes running from 5013 to 5024, and that block carries one shared instruction: 'Note to DCs 5013 through 5024: Evaluate the diseases under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of affected parts.' So the growth itself is not what is rated. What is rated is how much motion the affected joint has lost, evaluated under the limitation-of-motion code for that joint. A femoral osteochondroma that costs nothing in range of motion produces no compensable evaluation however alarming it looks on imaging; the same lesion sitting against a joint capsule and blocking flexion is rated on the degrees the joint has lost. The claim is therefore built out of goniometry, not radiology. Two provisions set the floor when motion loss is real but not severe enough to be compensable under the joint's own code. Section 4.59 entitles a joint that is actually painful, unstable or malaligned due to healed injury to at least the minimum compensable evaluation for that joint — which is the route most of these claims take to 10 percent. Note that DC 5003 Note (2) expressly bars the X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent evaluations for conditions rated under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024, so the two-or-more-major-joints shortcut in DC 5003 is not available here. The path to a compensable evaluation runs through painful or limited motion, not through imaging. Benign bone lesions include osteochondroma, enchondroma, osteoid osteoma, giant cell tumour, fibrous dysplasia, unicameral and aneurysmal bone cysts, and non-ossifying fibroma. Several are asymptomatic and found incidentally on films taken for something else; several are not, and they cause pain, weaken bone to the point of pathological fracture, compress adjacent nerves, or require curettage and grafting that leaves its own limitation. Where surgery has been performed, the surgical residuals — scarring, hardware, graft-site pain, and any resulting instability — are separately ratable. Do not confuse this code with DC 5012, 'Bones, neoplasm, malignant, primary or secondary,' which is a single 100 percent entry; the two codes are three lines apart and the numbers are easy to transpose.
Rating Criteria
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| See pathways | DC 5015 carries no percentage column. The Note to DCs 5013 through 5024 directs VA to evaluate these diseases as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of the affected parts — so the evaluation is assigned under the limitation-of-motion code for the joint involved. Where motion is noncompensable, 38 CFR 4.59 entitles a joint that is actually painful, unstable, or malaligned to at least the minimum compensable evaluation for that joint. DC 5003 Note (2) bars the X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent evaluations for conditions rated under DCs 5013 through 5024. |
Evidence Needed
- Imaging establishing the lesion and pathology where a biopsy was taken — this proves the diagnosis but is not what the evaluation is scored from
- Goniometric range of motion for the affected joint, recorded in degrees, active and passive, with and without repetitive use
- Documentation of pain on motion, instability or malalignment, which is what 38 CFR 4.59 turns on
- Operative reports for curettage, grafting, resection or internal fixation, and records of any pathological fracture
- Service treatment records or a nexus opinion connecting the lesion, or its worsening, to service
C&P Exam Tips
- The examination that matters is a joint examination, not an imaging review. Ask for range of motion in degrees for the affected joint and for the joints above and below it.
- Ask that repetitive-use testing be performed and that any additional loss after repetition be recorded, since that is where functional loss appears.
- Say where the pain begins in the arc of motion. Pain at the start of the range and pain only at the extreme are different findings and the report should distinguish them.
- If a joint is painful but moves through a normal range, make sure the pain is documented explicitly — that record is what supports the minimum compensable evaluation under 38 CFR 4.59.
- Bring operative reports if the lesion was removed. Post-surgical limitation, graft-site pain and scarring are part of the disability picture and each has its own path to an evaluation.
How to File
File on VA Form 21-526EZ naming the joint, not just the lesion. Because DC 5015 assigns nothing itself, the evaluation will be written under the limitation-of-motion code for whichever joint is affected, and the decision needs range-of-motion findings to work from. Ask for goniometry with repetitive-use testing and make sure pain on motion, instability and malalignment are each addressed, since 38 CFR 4.59 is the provision that carries a painful joint to the minimum compensable evaluation when the degrees alone fall short. Do not build the claim around imaging: DC 5003 Note (2) removes the X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent evaluations for everything rated under DCs 5013 through 5024, so films establish the diagnosis and nothing more. Where the lesion has been operated on, file the surgical residuals separately — scars under DC 7804, any nerve involvement under the 8500-series, and secondary strain of the joints that have compensated for the affected one.
Common Mistakes
- Building the claim around imaging. A benign lesion visible on film is not a compensable disability under this code; lost motion is, and the two are documented by different examinations.
- Relying on DC 5003's X-ray-based 20 and 10 percent evaluations. Note (2) to DC 5003 bars them for conditions rated under DCs 5013 through 5024, which includes 5015.
- Not raising 38 CFR 4.59 where the joint is painful but the measured range is noncompensable. That provision is the usual route to 10 percent here and it is rarely argued.
- Leaving surgical residuals unclaimed after curettage or grafting. Scars, graft-site pain, hardware and resulting instability are separate evaluations.
- Confusing DC 5015 with DC 5012. 5012 is 'Bones, neoplasm, malignant, primary or secondary' and pays 100 percent; 5015 is the benign code and pays nothing on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage does DC 5015 pay?
None by itself. The code has no rating column in 38 CFR 4.71a. The Note to DCs 5013 through 5024 directs that these diseases be evaluated as degenerative arthritis, based on limitation of motion of the affected parts, so the percentage in your decision will be written under the limitation-of-motion code for the joint involved.
My tumour shows clearly on the X-ray. Why is my rating 0 percent?
Because the code rates function rather than the lesion. Evaluation is on limitation of motion of the affected part, so a growth that costs no motion produces no compensable evaluation regardless of its size on film. If the joint is painful when it moves, that is the argument to make — 38 CFR 4.59 entitles an actually painful joint to at least the minimum compensable evaluation for that joint.
Can I use DC 5003's X-ray criteria to get 10 or 20 percent?
No. Note (2) to DC 5003 expressly excludes conditions rated under diagnostic codes 5013 through 5024 from the 20 and 10 percent evaluations based on X-ray evidence of involvement of two or more major joints. DC 5015 sits inside that range, so the imaging shortcut is unavailable and the evaluation has to come from measured motion or from 38 CFR 4.59.
What if the growth was surgically removed?
The evaluation follows what the surgery left. Curettage and bone grafting frequently leave restricted motion, graft-site pain, scarring and sometimes instability, and each of those is separately evaluable — scars under DC 7804, nerve involvement under the 8500-series, secondary strain of compensating joints under their own codes. Removal of the lesion does not close the claim.
Is this the same code as bone cancer?
No, and the distinction matters. DC 5012 is 'Bones, neoplasm, malignant, primary or secondary' and assigns a flat 100 percent, continued for one year after therapy ends and then rated on residuals. DC 5015 is 'Bones, neoplasm, benign' and assigns nothing of its own. The two codes sit three lines apart in the schedule, so it is worth checking which one a decision actually cites.
Can a benign bone growth be service-connected at all?
Yes, on the ordinary theories. It can be shown to have arisen in service, to have been aggravated beyond natural progression by service, or to be secondary to a service-connected condition or its treatment. The lesion being non-cancerous has no bearing on service connection; it bears only on which code applies, and 5015 is a code precisely because these growths can disable.