Scars decisions — 2011

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the evaluation of his service-connected right wrist gunshot wound injury.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The Board found that the Veteran's migraine headaches did not meet the criteria for a higher rating, and his service-connected disabilities did not preclude substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his facial scar was granted, and he is currently rated at 30 percent. He also received a separate 10 percent rating for the painful nature of the scar. The appeal does not involve any service connection issues related to exposure or other presumptions.

The Veteran's shell fragment wound scar on the left anterior shin is rated at 10 percent, and his service-connected chronic pruritis and intermittent rash, peripheral neuropathy of the feet, and hands are all rated as noncompensable.

The Veteran's service-connected appendectomy scar is rated at 10% due to pain, which more closely approximates the criteria for a painful scar. The disability does not meet the criteria for an unstable or nonlinear scar.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and earlier effective date were dismissed as the CUE claims were not pled with specificity.

The Board has granted an initial evaluation of 30 percent for atrophic scars of the right temple and posterior scalp, effective from the date of the decision. The Veteran's other service-connected conditions have not been rated higher.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for epilepsy, a facial scar, depression, headaches, ptosis, and miosis due to lack of clear and unmistakable evidence that these conditions were aggravated by service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and hepatitis C were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under VA regulations.

The Veteran is granted a 10 percent disability rating for his service-connected scars of the head and body, residuals of left ankle fractures, and residuals of left inferior and superior pubic rami fractures. The lumbosacral strain has not been rated higher.

The Veteran's sarcoidosis with postoperative scars, thoracotomy, and pulmonary fibrosis is currently rated at 60 percent from September 23, 2010. The condition was previously rated as 30 percent prior to that date.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the Veteran's death, as it has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claim.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected left eyebrow scar and right ankle disability. The Veteran will be provided with a supplemental statement of the case if any determination remains unfavorable.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as failure to establish a causal relationship between his claimed conditions and active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for residuals of a burn to the left hand with scarring, finding that March 14, 2006 is the correct date. The Veteran argued for an earlier effective date based on his original submission in August 2001, but this was denied as he did not file a new claim after the final denial in November 2003.

The Veteran is granted an initial disability evaluation of 10 percent for his service-connected corneal scar of the right eye, status post infectious keratitis.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and an effective date prior to March 3, 2008 were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD or 20 percent for status post excision of malignant melanoma, nor did it meet criteria for separate evaluations for scars of the right and left axillary sentinel lymph nodes.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and development of records. The Veteran's claims for service connection are pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or materially hasten his death, and thus denied both claims for service connection for the cause of death and DIC based on 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Veteran was diagnosed with chronic PTSD and right eye corneal scar residuals during service, which are now granted.,Service connection for these conditions is established as they are related to in-service stressors.