Scars decisions — 2009

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for further development, including providing corrective notice and obtaining an opinion from a VA physician regarding whether any service-connected disability contributed to the Veteran's death.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for initial evaluations in excess of 10 percent for scars on his buttocks, left leg, and left forearm.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's scar below the lower lip does not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating under any applicable VA rating code.

The Veteran's service-connected scars on both arms are not compensable, but Reiter's syndrome and osteoporosis have been granted as secondary to service-connected conditions.,Osteoporosis has been granted as secondary to service-connected Reiter's syndrome.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities, finding that he was not disabled enough to qualify under VA regulations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection have been denied as new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen his right knee injury claim, and he does not meet the criteria for service connection for other conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected multiple scars, residuals of shrapnel wounds, are currently rated at 10 percent each for the right and left arms, as well as the right and left legs. The claimant is seeking an increase in his disability rating.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to lung cancer and myocardial infarction. The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's in-service radiation exposure caused or contributed substantially or materially to his death.

The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the appellant did not meet the criteria for dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, in and of themselves without regard to his age, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for his residual scar from plantar wart removal from the left foot prior to November 16, 2007 was denied. The RO assigned a 20 percent rating effective November 16, 2007.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus and a right knee condition. The claim for left foot bunionectomy, claimed as secondary to service-connected postoperative scar of the left foot, remains pending.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities make it impossible for him to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private medical records and reconsidering the characterization of his service-connected right elbow disability.

The Veteran's service-connected residual scar of the left forehead does not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating under VA's rating schedule.

The Veteran's laceration scar residuals of the right elbow and malaria have not been found to meet or exceed the criteria for a compensable evaluation under VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's service-connected dishydrotic eczema of the hands and feet with recurrent cellulitis, rated at 50 percent, and appendectomy scar, rated noncompensable zero percent, do not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim of service connection for residuals of a head injury, thus denying the reopening of the claim.

The Veteran's claims for increased rating for the scar of the bridge of the nose, reopening service connection petitions for various disabilities, and service connection claims have all been denied. The RO has continued to deny these claims based on lack of new and material evidence or no medical nexus between current conditions and active military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for residuals from a head injury, a scar on the scalp, and bilateral chronic maxillary sinusitis have been denied as there is no evidence of occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency or intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.