Why the Physical Disability Review Board or one of the Boards Of Corrections for Military Records

THIS INFORMATION SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER THE BENEFITS OF CONSULTING WITH A TRAINED LEGAL PROFESSIONAL

The Physical Disability Board of Review, or PDBR, was legislated by Congress and implemented by the Department of Defense to ensure the accuracy and fairness of combined disability ratings of 20% or less assigned to service members who were discharged between September 11, 2001 and December 31, 2009.

This is a very important point and you should understand there are several differences between the scope and the consequences of the two reviews. To help you compare you may wish to refer to the comparison chart at the end of these FAQs. If you file with the PDBR, you cannot ask your service BCMR/BCNR to review the issue of whether you should have received a higher rating for the same medical condition(s) that resulted in separation. However, you can request your service BCMR/BCNR to review other issues such as whether you should have been rated for additional medical conditions. If you do not go to the PDBR, you can ask the BCMR/BCNR to consider all of the issues relevant to your separation, including the rating awarded for your unfit condition. You were found unfit for a back problem and separated at 10 percent for this condition. You also had asthma problems but they were not found to be unfitting (you met retention standards). Additionally, you also contend you suffer from tinnitus but this diagnosis was not documented in your physical evaluation board proceedings. You may ask the PDBR to re-evaluate your back injury rating and determine whether the asthma condition should have also been considered separately unfitting and factored in your overall rating. The PDBR could not consider the matter of claimed tinnitus if that condition was not documented in your original PEB proceedings. Alternatively, you could ask a BCMR/BCNR to change your record to show you were found unfit for all conditions. If you do not go to the PDBR, you could ask the BCMR/BCNR to consider everything; if you have been to the PDBR, the BCMR/BCNR will not review the rating for your back or asthma-related conditions, but will consider whether you should have also been found unfit (and received an additional rating) for the tinnitus or any other medical condition you may be claiming. From the https://health.mil/PDBR website