u/Icy-Significance-882

I am already currently rated 10% for my knee. They have all my records related to the fall that injured my knee to begin with. I want to file a secondary injury for my back that has caused chronic pain and degenerative disc disease from the initial injury and from walking with a weird gate for the last 14 years. My doctor at the VA is going to write me a Nexus letter.

My question is do I need to worry about them taking away my 10% for my knee. It’s marked static. I don’t want them to reevaluate my knee. I also am afraid to lose the VA because I am going through extensive care there right now for something that is not a service connected injury?

I’ve spent 10 years in the trades, but I’m done. I have a 10% service-connected rating, and a recent major injury to my left arm (non-SC) has made physical labor impossible.
The trades are my entire resume. I have zero desk or office experience. I’m looking to pivot to a Special Ed degree at and become a teacher because it’s a career I can actually perform physically and it’s a high-need field in my area.

Questions:

1. Since I’m only at 10%, has anyone had success proving a "Serious Employment Handicap" by showing that a non-SC injury makes their 10% rating impossible to work with?

2. How do I best argue that my lack of non-trade experience makes me "unemployable" without a degree?
   I’m a former 68W and ready for the work, just worried about the 10% threshold. Any tips for the counselor interview?

Good morning,

I got approved for 10% for my knee injury that I saw treatment for back in 2012 until 2015. I was brushed off for many years by my leadership but continued to seek treatment privately. I received 10% for my knee in October 2025 and that injury was marked as static.

At the time that I filed my claim, I only claimed my knee and I did it at my local VSO and provided all the medical records and it got approved. At the time I did not realize that I should’ve filed for my lower back arthritis and my mental health issues due to chronic pain like depression and anxiety at the same time.

I want to open up a secondary claim, but I am in the middle of an extensive medical treatment at the VA right now for something completely unrelated to this. Because I am only at 10% and within the first year I am paranoid that they may take it away and then that will take away the only medical care I have.

I have done extensive research on the topic, but it all comes back to. There’s many people on here that have so much knowledge of the system than me.

My question is it risky for me to file a secondary claim to my knee for mental health and my lower back problems right now because it’s within the first year? My knee is marked as static. I want to do this on my own and not with the help of an agency.