Scars decisions — 2009

The Veteran's appeal involves the initial rating for sebaceous cyst scars with hidradenitis/furunculosis prior to July 2007 and a higher rating since that date. The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development, including obtaining VA medical records and arranging for a new VA dermatological examination.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has denied service connection for memory loss and scars on the face and skull as there is no current evidence of these conditions.

The Board finds that the Veteran's account of a shrapnel wound to his head during service is credible, and thus service connection for residuals of a shrapnel wound to the head, including a scar, is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for financial assistance for the purchase of an automobile and adaptive equipment or adaptive equipment only.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for facial scarring and an increased rating for his psychophysiological gastrointestinal reaction were both denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection, and concluded that the current disability was not related to his only service-connected condition.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disorder, including degenerative joint disease. The claim for a cataract and corneal scar in the left eye is denied as there is no evidence of permanent aggravation during service.

The Veteran's surgical scar on the left foot is rated at 10 percent, which is the maximum schedular award for a superficial, non-disfiguring scar that causes pain.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including a right ulna fracture with radial deviation and complete loss of radial and ulnar flexion, were found to be insufficient for the grant of TDIU due to his inability to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran is seeking payment or reimbursement for unauthorized medical services provided at Maine Medical Center from May 4, 2007 to May 10, 2007. The VA denied the claim due to the Veteran refusing transfer to a VA facility and because VA regulations precluded payment for treatment procured through private sources in preference to available Government facilities.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a scar, residual of a gunshot wound was denied due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claimed lower back disorder, left foot disability, left bicep scar, and left shoulder disability were not incurred or aggravated during active military service.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for an effective date prior to March 10, 1997 and for a TDIU rating based on his service-connected PTSD. The appellant was found not to have total occupational and social impairment due to his PTSD and left flank scar disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his psychiatric disorder, rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment from September 21, 1999, until February 6, 2007.

The Board denied service connection for a right ankle disorder and chorioretinal scar, as well as initial ratings for migraine headaches and GERD. The Veteran's claims were not supported by competent medical evidence.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD, and there is no evidence linking any diagnosed condition to service. The claims for scars and bilateral hearing loss were also denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and sinusitis due to insufficient evidence. The claim of entitlement to an initial disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for a keloid scar of the mid-chest is denied as there is no medical nexus indicating causation with service.

The Board has granted service connection for a residual scar from head laceration and denied service connection for headaches as residuals of a head laceration, numbness in arms and legs as residuals of a head laceration. The Veteran's claim for PTSD is also denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for adhesion scar tissue as secondary to his service-connected incisional ventral hernia and also denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for incisional ventral hernia.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant withdrew their appeal prior to a decision being made.