Scars decisions — 2022

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment consistent with his educational and occupational background.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for new examinations.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining an opinion on the nature and severity of her eye disability throughout the appeal period, the etiology of her visual field defect(s), and whether her service-connected iritis of the right eye, chorioretinal scar of the right eye, and angle closure glaucoma, to include bilateral dry eye syndrome, has required treatment by a provider specifically for treatment purposes.

The Board has remanded the claims for esophageal carcinoma and related conditions due to new evidence received, including VA examinations and treatment records. The TDIU claim is also being considered.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and higher ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and an examination. The TDIU claim has been dismissed.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations and evaluations to assess the severity of his service-connected coronary artery disease, surgical scars, left ankle disability, and left knee disorder. The issues are related to the evaluation and service connection aspects of these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of bilateral breast reconstruction surgery are granted, and her initial rating for the condition is set at 50 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected left knee, left knee instability, left knee scars, and adjustment disorder render him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, anxiety disorder, sleep apnea with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, scars, tinnitus, history of basal cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities prior to November 24, 2008. As such, the Veteran is granted an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss effective from October 31, 2002, and entitlement to a TDIU prior to that date.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his service-connected residual scar status post left varicocele ligation is being remanded due to additional evidence not yet reviewed by the RO.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for his service-connected painful scar, right knee was denied because the Notice of Disagreement (NOD) was not timely filed within one year after receiving the July 2017 rating decision.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of a respiratory disorder, right hip disability, and scar of the right hip are granted. The claim for an initial compensable rating for hypertension is denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional records and examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to December 14, 2016, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral hip disorder, a disability rating higher than 10 percent for tender keloid nodules on the chest, and a compensable disability rating for multiple scars, anterior chest. The evidence did not support granting these claims.

The Board has restored service connection for the Veteran's claimed conditions and denied requests to sever separate evaluations.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable rating for her residual scar due to malignant melanoma is granted, with an effective date of October 22, 2016. The Board found the scar painful and unstable, warranting a 20 percent rating under DC 7804.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for scars of the head and face prior to June 8, 2017, and a rating in excess of 30 percent thereafter is remanded due to lack of color photographs associated with the claims file.

The Board has dismissed the appeal seeking service connection for a painful scar on the scrotum and has remanded the issue of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for colon cancer.