Before applying, please note what the PDBR is looking for and what their scope is! (Located in detail at the bottom). This will help in your formulation of a claim and getting the most favorable outcome.
The board is limited in what it can look at. You MUST request that "not unfitting" conditions be considered in your contention or legally they cannot consider them, I have seen in my research where this has literally been the difference between 20% and 30%. They cannot look at conditions that are outside of their scope and ONLY what the condition was like at the time of discharge (up to 12 months post discharge, but only to the effect that it supports your unchanged condition at the time of separation). They will first look at each condition and determine whether that condition, if it were the only condition you had, would alone be unfitting. Your NARSUM should give you a good idea of what the board is considering as evidence, along with the physicals, profiles and notes of clinicians.
Including terms on your 294 like: "My condition is worse", "continues to deteriorate", "I also have another condition", "these things weren't looked at", etc. will not help and could, in fact, hurt. EX: If you left the military with a PEB of 20% and were never seen by the VA that's almost better than if you were seen by the VA and were rated lower (this happens quite frequently) if they used the same rating criteria, although I have seen it go both ways. Get your medical records and look at CFR 38 to see what they're looking for under each condition that the PEB rated. Prepare your contention in accordance with the wording in the Statute.
If your PEB was for one joint (knee, elbow, ankle, etc) and no other conditions, it's unlikely to hit the 30%. If it was 0% your chances of getting it raised to 10% are good, 20% has to be clearly documented limitation of use or range of motion/or arthritic, degenerative type conditions. The exception I've seen thus far is for a back (spine is broken into 3 categories for evaluation) that has severely limited range of motion or very specific other measures, such as observed spasms, abnormal gait, scoliosis or abnormal curvature or nerve involvement with radiculopathy . They're relying heavily on ROM vs. Painful motion per CFR 38. and specifically whether the PEB improperly coded your condition.
If you have any "not unfitting" conditions on your PEB or had several conditions subsumed under something else, if they rated your knees, ankles, etc. as bilateral and less that 10% each they'll be looking at whether they can unbundle them, first by checking if they were BOTH symptomatic, treated and would have been unfitting individually (seems to be random whether they do or don't unbundle them, though).
If you have a MH condition of ANY kind on your PEB apply to the PDRB!! They are specifically looking for incorrectly rated Mental Health conditions and ones that were found "not unfitting".
Here is the actual wording that is used on the board for scope:
SCOPE OF REVIEW: The Board’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44, Enclosure 3, paragraph 5.e.(2). It is limited to those conditions determined by the PEB to be unfitting for continued military service and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the PEB, but determined to be not unfitting. Any conditions outside the Board’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/Naval Records. Furthermore, the Board’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections, where appropriate. The Board’s assessment of the PEB rating determinations is confined to review of medical records and all available evidence for application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards to the unfitting medical condition at the time of separation. The Board 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, operating under a different set of laws. The Board gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of the disability at the time of separation.
Don't do anything without researching!!! You only get ONE SHOT!! No appeals, their decision is final. Afterwards you'll still have the BCMR, but why push it. Get it as close to perfect as possible, it's going to be about 2 years before you get a decision, and you don't want to regret not having given everything you had to make it the best outcome!
The board is limited in what it can look at. You MUST request that "not unfitting" conditions be considered in your contention or legally they cannot consider them, I have seen in my research where this has literally been the difference between 20% and 30%. They cannot look at conditions that are outside of their scope and ONLY what the condition was like at the time of discharge (up to 12 months post discharge, but only to the effect that it supports your unchanged condition at the time of separation). They will first look at each condition and determine whether that condition, if it were the only condition you had, would alone be unfitting. Your NARSUM should give you a good idea of what the board is considering as evidence, along with the physicals, profiles and notes of clinicians.
Including terms on your 294 like: "My condition is worse", "continues to deteriorate", "I also have another condition", "these things weren't looked at", etc. will not help and could, in fact, hurt. EX: If you left the military with a PEB of 20% and were never seen by the VA that's almost better than if you were seen by the VA and were rated lower (this happens quite frequently) if they used the same rating criteria, although I have seen it go both ways. Get your medical records and look at CFR 38 to see what they're looking for under each condition that the PEB rated. Prepare your contention in accordance with the wording in the Statute.
If your PEB was for one joint (knee, elbow, ankle, etc) and no other conditions, it's unlikely to hit the 30%. If it was 0% your chances of getting it raised to 10% are good, 20% has to be clearly documented limitation of use or range of motion/or arthritic, degenerative type conditions. The exception I've seen thus far is for a back (spine is broken into 3 categories for evaluation) that has severely limited range of motion or very specific other measures, such as observed spasms, abnormal gait, scoliosis or abnormal curvature or nerve involvement with radiculopathy . They're relying heavily on ROM vs. Painful motion per CFR 38. and specifically whether the PEB improperly coded your condition.
If you have any "not unfitting" conditions on your PEB or had several conditions subsumed under something else, if they rated your knees, ankles, etc. as bilateral and less that 10% each they'll be looking at whether they can unbundle them, first by checking if they were BOTH symptomatic, treated and would have been unfitting individually (seems to be random whether they do or don't unbundle them, though).
If you have a MH condition of ANY kind on your PEB apply to the PDRB!! They are specifically looking for incorrectly rated Mental Health conditions and ones that were found "not unfitting".
Here is the actual wording that is used on the board for scope:
SCOPE OF REVIEW: The Board’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44, Enclosure 3, paragraph 5.e.(2). It is limited to those conditions determined by the PEB to be unfitting for continued military service and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the PEB, but determined to be not unfitting. Any conditions outside the Board’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/Naval Records. Furthermore, the Board’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections, where appropriate. The Board’s assessment of the PEB rating determinations is confined to review of medical records and all available evidence for application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards to the unfitting medical condition at the time of separation. The Board 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, operating under a different set of laws. The Board gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of the disability at the time of separation.
Don't do anything without researching!!! You only get ONE SHOT!! No appeals, their decision is final. Afterwards you'll still have the BCMR, but why push it. Get it as close to perfect as possible, it's going to be about 2 years before you get a decision, and you don't want to regret not having given everything you had to make it the best outcome!