Scars decisions — 2009

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including post-traumatic headaches and bilateral knee disability, are of sufficient severity to result in unemployability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as the evidence did not support higher ratings or additional compensation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for initial compensable evaluations for various disabilities, including a right shoulder disorder, left elbow disorder, right and left inguinal hernia scars, and residuals of left hand third and fourth metacarpal fractures. The claim for an increased evaluation for residuals of a left orchiectomy with erectile dysfunction was also denied.

The Board found no evidence of a right parietal scar that was painful or unstable, and denied the claim for an increased rating.

The Board found that the veteran did not sustain a right hand injury during service, and therefore denied service connection for a scar on the right hand.

The Veteran's first formal application for compensation was received in June 2002, within one year of the RO's sending of a VA Form 21-526 in October 2001, that was sent in response to the Veteran's informal claim that was received on March 28, 2001. The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection.

The veteran's claim for a higher special monthly compensation rate on account of being in need of the aid and attendance of another person or on account of being housebound was denied as his service-connected disabilities did not render him so helpless as to require regular aid and attendance, nor were they sufficient to establish permanent housebound status.

The Board denied service connection for bronchitis, a degenerative condition of the skeletal system, and scars as there was no competent evidence linking these conditions to active service or herbicide exposure.

The appeal is remanded to the RO/AMC for further development and readjudication of the veteran's claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and a temporary total rating, as the evidence did not support higher disability ratings or a temporary total rating based on hospitalization.

The case is remanded to the RO for additional development and readjudication of the issues on appeal.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for burn scars of both feet, as there was no evidence that either scar caused any functional impairment or other symptoms warranting a compensable evaluation.

The veteran's service-connected prostatitis, bladder outlet obstruction is rated at 20 percent. No other conditions were granted a higher rating.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a shell fragment wound of the left upper arm and forearm with muscle group III and V impairment are not entitled to an evaluation in excess of 30 percent, but he is granted a 10% rating for a left biceps scar. The other two scars do not warrant compensable evaluations.

The veteran was granted service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis, abdominal scar and vulvar scar with a 10 percent rating assigned. The claims for service connection for atherosclerosis, peripheral enthesopathy, and periodontal disease were denied.

The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for post-phlebitic syndrome of the right and left lower extremities, effective July 9, 2008.

The veteran's PTSD was rated at 50 percent, and a separate 10 percent rating for tender scars as residuals of the left thigh wound was granted.

The Board found no competent and probative evidence to support a connection between the veteran's service-connected disabilities and his death.

The veteran's claims for initial ratings higher than 10 percent for his service-connected disabilities were denied.

The Board found clear and unmistakable error in the March 1974 administrative decision that the veteran's discharge was not a bar to VA benefits, and denied service connection for all claimed conditions as the character of discharge is a bar to VA benefits.