There is no regulation that requires you to be fully healed before a Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam, and you generally cannot unilaterally delay a scheduled exam just because you are recovering from an unrelated recent injury. However, timing does matter for accuracy, and you have some options.
A C&P exam is meant to capture your current, chronic level of disability for the condition being claimed — in this case flat feet and the secondary orthopedic conditions (knee, hip, back). If you are examined while dealing with acute pain or limited mobility from a recent fall (rib injury, hip/groin/glute strain) that is unrelated to the claimed conditions, the examiner may record artificially low range-of-motion or strength findings, or may note the acute injury as a confounding factor, which could complicate the rating for the actual claimed conditions. It's reasonable to want your baseline, chronic condition tested rather than a temporary flare-up from an unrelated injury.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
Does your rating decision hold up under a real audit?
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Analyze my claim free →If you already have an Intent to File on record (VA Form 21-0966), you have up to one year from that date to submit your claim and still get the earlier effective date, so there is often flexibility in when you formally file. If you haven't yet filed the actual claim, you can simply wait to submit it until you feel your orthopedic conditions are at a stable, representative baseline — this naturally delays when the C&P exam would even be scheduled, since exams are generally ordered after a claim is filed.
If you have already filed and a C&P exam gets scheduled while you are still recovering from the fall, you can contact the Regional Office or the exam contractor (VES, LHI, QTC, etc.) to request a reschedule, explaining that an unrelated recent injury is currently affecting your mobility and could skew the results. This is not guaranteed, but VA does allow rescheduling for good cause, and it is far better to request a postponement than to have inaccurate exam findings become part of your permanent record, since correcting them later usually requires a supplemental claim with new medical evidence or a request for a new exam.
Discuss the timing directly with your VSO before filing, since they can advise on how the Intent to File deadline interacts with your recovery timeline and can help request a reschedule if needed.
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