VA Disability Rating for Lip Injuries (DC 7201)
Diagnostic Code 7201 · 38 CFR §4.114
What Is It?
DC 7201 is “Lips, injuries of,” and its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty. The entry is a single line: rate as disfigurement, diagnostic codes 7800 and 7804. The percentage never comes from this code. It comes from DC 7800 — burn scars, other scars, or other disfigurement of the head, face or neck — or from DC 7804, scars that are unstable or painful, both of which sit in the skin schedule at 38 CFR 4.118. Lip injuries in service come from combat wounds, burns, vehicle accidents and the surgery that repairs them, and their lasting effects can include difficulty eating and drinking, drooling, and unclear speech. Those effects still matter to the claim, but they matter as evidence of tissue loss and distortion, because tissue loss and distortion are what DC 7800 actually counts. Note the contrast with the code immediately above it: DC 7200, soft tissue injury of the mouth, routes to the same two scar codes and adds impairment of mastication. DC 7201 carries no second pathway — for the lips, the scar codes are the whole evaluation.
Rating Criteria
| Rating | Criteria |
|---|---|
| See pathways | DC 7201 carries no percentage column. The entry directs one thing: rate as disfigurement, diagnostic codes 7800 and 7804. DC 7800 runs 80, 50, 30 and 10 percent, keyed to visible or palpable tissue loss with gross distortion or asymmetry of features (three or more features at 80, two at 50, one at 30), or alternatively to the number of characteristics of disfigurement (six or more at 80, four or five at 50, two or three at 30, one at 10). The lips are one of the eight features the code names, alongside nose, chin, forehead, eyes including eyelids, ears, and cheeks. DC 7804 runs 30, 20 and 10 percent on the number of scars that are unstable or painful — five or more, three or four, one or two — and its Note (2) adds 10 percent where one or more scars are both unstable and painful. The routing itself awards nothing. |
Evidence Needed
- Service treatment records documenting the lip injury and every repair or revision performed since
- Current photographs of the face taken in even light, since DC 7800 is decided largely on what is visible
- Examination findings on the characteristics of disfigurement DC 7800 lists, including scar length and width, whether the scar is elevated or depressed, adherent to underlying tissue, hypo- or hyper-pigmented, abnormal in texture, and whether underlying soft tissue is missing
- A statement of whether visible or palpable tissue loss has produced gross distortion or asymmetry of the lips or any other named feature
- A record of whether any scar is painful on examination or unstable, and how many such scars there are — that count is what DC 7804 rates
- Documentation of difficulty eating, drinking, drooling or speech, which evidences the extent of the tissue loss
C&P Exam Tips
- Ask that the examiner measure and record each scar, because DC 7800's characteristics of disfigurement are measurements, not impressions
- Say plainly whether any scar is tender when touched and whether it breaks down, and how many scars do so — DC 7804 counts them
- Point out any asymmetry or distortion of the lips at rest and in movement, and let the examiner see you speak, drink and close your mouth
- Show how the injury affects eating and drinking; that testimony supports the tissue-loss finding rather than earning a separate percentage
- Do not expect a percentage under DC 7201 itself — ask that the disfigurement and scar codes be evaluated, which is what the entry directs
How to File
File VA Form 21-526EZ naming the lip injury and its residuals; the rater applies DC 7201 and then evaluates under DC 7800 and DC 7804 as the entry directs. Ask in the claim that both be considered, because they measure different things — DC 7800 measures disfigurement and tissue loss, DC 7804 counts unstable or painful scars, and a veteran can meet both. Attach the service treatment records for the original injury, current photographs, and any operative reports. Neither destination code is on 38 CFR 4.114's non-combination list, because neither is a digestive code at all.
Common Mistakes
Expecting a percentage from DC 7201 itself. The code has an empty rating cell and directs evaluation under DC 7800 and DC 7804. Describing only the functional trouble — messy eating, drooling, slurred speech — without the measurements and photographs the disfigurement code is actually decided on. Assuming a scar must be large to count: DC 7804 rates scars that are unstable or painful regardless of size, and its Note (2) adds 10 percent where a scar is both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there no rating table under DC 7201?
Because the code assigns no percentages. Its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty and the entry reads: rate as disfigurement (diagnostic codes 7800 and 7804). DC 7800 runs 80, 50, 30 and 10 percent; DC 7804 runs 30, 20 and 10. The percentage comes from whichever of those fits the injury.
Is lip disfigurement rated separately from the lip injury?
No — it is the same rating. DC 7201 has no criteria of its own, so there is no separate functional evaluation to add disfigurement to. The disfigurement and scar codes are the entire evaluation of the lip injury.
Can I get more than one percentage for the same lip injury?
Sometimes, because DC 7800 and DC 7804 measure different things — disfigurement and tissue loss on one side, unstable or painful scars on the other. Ask that both be considered. Whether they may be combined in a given case is decided under 38 CFR 4.14, which bars rating the same symptoms twice.