Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 6/30/2009

Question
my son is considering an officer commission but has  partially torn cartilage (labrum) in his dominant shoulder. the injury was caused by a sudden lunging movement; he had PT and currently has normal function. Would this disqualify him and/or would he have to request a waiver, as my understanding is that this injury can re-occur.

Answer
Dear Karen --

With this kind of shoulder injury, he will be disqualified by the medical officer at the Military Entry Processing Station (MEPS).  Then he will have to request a medical waiver.  He should have all his documentation proving current full functioning of the shoulder prepared before he goes to MEPS so he can submit his waiver package quickly.

If he receives a waiver, he is covered if he further injures his shoulder during service.  

If he tries to hide his injury and join without a waiver, he could be discharged for fraudulent entry if he re-injures his shoulder and they discover he never declared his prior injury.  Further the military could refuse to cover the injury since it recurred and he did not have a waiver for the existing injury.

There is no guarantee that the medical waiver will be approved, but the only way to know is to try.

Good luck to you and your son.