Yonek v. Shinseki

Yonek v. Shinseki, docket no. 2012-7120 (Fed. Cir. July 8, 2013)
In this case, the Federal Circuit held that a veteran is only entitled to a single disability rating under 38 C.F.R. § 4.71a, Diagnostic Code 5201, for each arm where there is limited motion of the shoulder. The Court held that a veteran cannot get separate ratings for flexion and abduction. The Court acknowledged that diagnostic codes for the knee and elbow allow for separate ratings for limitation of flexion and extension, but relied on the plain language of DC 5201 to find that any limitation of motion of the shoulder constitutes a single disability, regardless of the various ways in which the motion is limited.