BDD claim and inadequate C& P exam

Question:

My husband file for a BDD claim and had finished his C&P exam 3 weeks ago. His C&P lasted about 4 hrs, when he came home he told me that his C&P Doctor did not measure his Range of Motion. Being a Nurse and had some research on how disabilities are being rated especially joint and spine conditions,  it's a rule of the Thumb for MD to be measuring Range of Motion using a Goniometer. He just basically asked my husband to do motions and he is just basically eyeballing.  My husband has a very bad back problem having been diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis, stenosis, degenerative disk disease and Lumbar Radiculopathy so he was not able to do any full range of motion without pain, also he has couple of problems with his left shoulder and same thing ROM was not measured. This week we saw a copy of his C&P and we were surprised that the MD came up with numbers on the Range of Motions on his back and shoulder and most of them are less limited but nearly normal so according to his VSO could probably only rated for 10% on the back for pain and minimum 20% for his shoulder and also he stated that there is no Radiculopathy when in fact my husband has been having a lot of problem with numbness. We're very concerned coz his main problem is his Back and his shoulder, he has been doing physical therapy, chiropractor and pain specialist for almost 3 years. My question is can we request another C&P exam just for the Back and Shoulder? He is still active duty right now and his retirement will be January 01, 2019. If we have to ask for another C&P can you help us with what to say or write on our request? Thanks in Advance!

Jim's Reply:

You should not ask for another C & P exam. Even though your veteran received an inadequate C & P exam, you don't know what the rater will do with that information. Until you know whether or not he receives appropriate ratings, you're better off doing nothing rather than interrupting the claims adjudication process. VA has a process and once a claim is in process, it's best that we don't interrupt it...once the train is off the tracks it can be hard to get going again. Let the process complete and if you aren't happy, then you formally appeal. And yes, a goniometer is required so if you aren't satisfied with the results, there's your appeal.