Scars decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a bilateral testicular condition is denied. The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis or history of a testicular disability, and the Veteran does not have a diagnosed testicular disorder related to service. For his right forearm scar, painful scar, and nerve injury, the Veteran is currently rated at 70 percent for PTSD, which is the maximum rating allowed under Diagnostic Code 8513. The Board denied higher ratings for these conditions as they do not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board denied service connection for various musculoskeletal conditions, including lumbar spine, bilateral finger, bilateral knee, bilateral leg, and bilateral foot disabilities. The examiner concluded that the current diagnoses were not related to service.

The Veteran's disability rating for cornea scar of the right eye, residual of abrasions cornea transplant is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to inadequate examination reports and failure to address Veteran's reports of bleeding from scars.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of the Veteran's left leg disability, specifically his left knee scar and DJD. The case is now pending further development.

The Veteran's right total knee replacement is rated at 60 percent since August 1, 2020. The Board also granted eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for her right shoulder, left shoulder, rhinitis, sinusitis, and painful C-section scar conditions. The claims are being remanded due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of scarring of the abdomen, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his military service and specifically to a cholecystectomy he underwent in March 1971. The Board determined that there was equipoise of evidence regarding this relationship.

The Veteran's service connection claim for left ear hearing loss is granted. The right ear hearing loss and the left toe scar claims are denied.

The Board has determined that additional examinations are needed for the Veteran's service-connected nonspecific urethritis, erectile dysfunction, and endovascular repair of thoracic aortic aneurysm and aortic/femoral artery bypass with scar due to incomplete medical records and lack of recent evaluations.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were dismissed.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted as secondary to service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened and are now pending. The Board has found new and material evidence to support the reopening of his claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, anxiety disorder; however, no new or material evidence was found to reopen his claims for hypertension, post-operative abdominal injury, diabetes mellitus, type II, and right hip scar (residual of a gunshot wound).

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and consideration, including obtaining new medical opinions to address whether the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased evaluations of painful scar and surgical scar, left ankle have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has remanded the case due to a TDIU claim, as the Veteran does not meet the percentage requirements for a schedular TDIU rating. However, even when the rating percentage requirements are not met, entitlement to TDIU benefits may be considered if the veteran is unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his exostosis of externa ear canal, s/p excision of osteoma left ear canal with residual scar. The examiner should also determine if headaches are associated with this condition.

The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for coronary artery disease, status post coronary bypass surgery, from March 8, 2018 to March 7, 2019 was granted with a 100% evaluation.,The effective date of service connection for surgical scar is denied as it does not meet the criteria.

The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for left wrist disability and scar was denied as the evidence did not show ankylosis or other functional loss that would warrant a higher rating. The current 10% ratings are considered appropriate based on limitation of motion.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development to address his claims of increased ratings and effective dates.

The Veteran's effective dates for service connection and temporary total evaluations have been denied due to lack of evidence showing claims prior to the assigned dates.,An effective date prior to May 10, 2018 has not been granted for left knee degenerative joint disease as no earlier claim was filed.