Scars decisions — 2024

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to withdrawal of the appeal. The claims for bilateral heel spur and bilateral tibial stress fracture are being remanded.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to withdrawal of the appeal. The claims for right knee instability, left thigh scars, bilateral eye disorder, and bilateral heel spurs are being remanded.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings on several conditions has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for scars of face and scar of back and pelvic region due to a duty to assist error.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to withdrawal of the appeal. The claims for bilateral heel spur and bilateral tibial stress fracture are being remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including left lower extremity peripheral artery disease and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, result in the loss of use of both lower extremities. The Board has granted eligibility for specially adapted housing due to these conditions.

The Veteran's skin cancer residual scars of the head, face, or neck have not been manifested by visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of two features or paired sets of features; or four or five characteristics of disfigurement. As such, a higher rating in excess of 30 percent is denied.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his scars is remanded to determine if the scars are unstable.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection have been remanded due to the need for further medical examination and evaluation.

The Veteran's appeals for increased and reduced ratings related to various knee, hip, and shoulder conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of her appeal.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not compensable, as the average pure tone threshold does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.,The Veteran's gynecomastia mastectomy scar is not compensable under DC 7802 due to its small size and lack of instability or pain.

The Veteran's claims for dental scars, HTN, right arm burn scar, and loss of teeth are all remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to missing VA treatment records and a need for an examination.

The Board dismissed the appeal as to the issue of timeliness of a Notice of Disagreement because the Veteran's April 2, 2024 submission clarified his intent for the January 22, 2021 submission.

The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection awards of fracture of right arm and humerus s/p shoulder surgery (dominant) associated with hypertension and residual scar, s/p right shoulder surgery associated with fracture or right arm and humerus s/p shoulder surgery (dominant), as there was no basis to grant such claims.

The Veteran's death was attributed to myocardial infarction and cardiac insufficiency. The VA examiner opined that the service-connected conditions did not contribute substantially or materially to his death, but there is a need for an adequate medical opinion regarding the cause of death.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to an effective date prior to July 17, 2019 for service connection for duodenal ulcer status post vagotomy with dumping syndrome, vomiting and diarrhea also claimed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), severe dietary restrictions and chronic emesis, and entitlement to service connection for rib removal due to surgery.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for urinary incontinence is dismissed as the AOJ did not address this issue.,The Veteran's right lower extremity scar, which does not have any underlying tissue damage, is currently rated noncompensably (0%) due to its small size and lack of functional impairment.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for a thoracolumbar spine disorder is dismissed. The appeals for increased ratings for right shoulder, right lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve (right), and left lower extremity radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve are denied. A 10% rating is granted for an appendectomy scar.

The Veteran's back scar is granted as secondary to a service-connected condition. The compensable rating for erectile dysfunction is denied. Eligibility for specially adapted housing grant is granted due to permanent and total disability affecting locomotion.