Scars decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection are denied as they are freestanding claims that must be denied as a matter of law.,For the residuals of nasal fracture, the claim is denied as there is no evidence showing at least 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides or complete obstruction on one side.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's vein scar, right upper extremity (also claimed as collapsed veins, right arm), finding that it is proximately due to his service-connected hemochromatosis. The Board also found support for a secondary service connection claim for post-phlebotomy scars, bilateral elbow.

The Veteran's appeal to have the effective date for his service-connected posterior neck scar, status post cervical fusion, changed due to clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in a prior final rating decision was dismissed without prejudice. The Veteran did not provide sufficient specificity regarding the alleged CUE.

The Board dismissed the appeal of a higher initial disability rating in excess of 30 percent for service-connected loss of part of the nose with a disfiguring scar, as the January 2023 AOJ decision implementing the Board's grant was not an appealable decision.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted effective June 20, 2020. The Board denied earlier effective dates as the earliest possible date is June 20, 2020.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been submitted to readjudicate the claims of service connection for a right knee condition, left knee condition, and residual scarring from shell casing burns of upper back/neck. The claims are being remanded for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his left hip disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under any relevant diagnostic codes.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for hypothyroidism, Bell's palsy with right side incomplete paralysis of the fifth and seventh cranial nerves, tracheostomy and biopsy scars of the neck, and vocal cord paralysis. The issues of entitlement to increased ratings for hypothyroidism and Bell's palsy were also remanded.

The Veteran's appeals regarding service connection for COPD, increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II, and increased rating for scar to neck have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeals.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and increased ratings have been denied.,No new evidence or changes in the Veteran's conditions were presented, leading to a denial of all issues on appeal.

The Veteran's mental health condition, other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder with depressive disorder, is rated at a 50 percent rating since June 21, 2021. Effective dates for service connection have been granted for liposarcoma, left medial thigh muscle disability, scar, left groin status post orchiectomy, and special monthly compensation based on housebound status.

The Veteran's service-connected scars are being remanded for a VA examination to determine their severity and whether they cause chest pain.

The Board has found that the VA examinations provided in January 2021 were deficient and remanded for new examinations to determine the current severity of the Veteran's migraine headaches, painful right knee scars, and bilateral plantar fasciitis.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in a January 2023 Rating Decision, as the decision was not an appeal of a prior decision and did not meet the criteria for eligibility to attorney fees.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for cervical strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, intervertebral disc syndrome and degenerative disc disease, migraines, radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, and corneal scar, right eye (right eye disability) have been denied.,The earliest effective dates available under the applicable law for these awards are February 11, 2019, for cervical strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine, intervertebral disc syndrome and degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy of the right and left upper extremities, and migraine headaches; January 22, 2014, for corneal scar, right eye (right eye disability).

The Board has decided the Veteran's right shoulder scar and left shoulder strain cases, granting a 10% rating for the right shoulder scar. The increased rating claim for left shoulder strain was denied. The Board has also remanded the claims of service connection for right- and left-hand disorders.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was rated at 10 percent, but the Board found no evidence of limitation to less than 60 degrees of forward flexion or combined range of motion less than 120 degrees. The right hip/femur disabilities were separately rated as 20 and 10 percent.,The Veteran's right knee strain was not evaluated for a higher rating, and the right hip scar did not meet criteria for a compensable rating.

The Veteran withdrew her appeals for all issues related to the service-connected conditions listed, including PTSD, low back disability, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right foot and left foot disabilities, hip limitations, wrist ganglion cyst, scar on the right wrist, allergic rhinitis, sciatic radicular pain of the left lower extremity, shoulder disability, and traumatic brain injury. As a result, all appeals are dismissed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted with an effective date of June 4, 2019. The Board found that the effective date should be prior to June 4, 2019, based on the correction of his military records.

The Veteran's bilateral preauricular scars were rated as noncompensable from January 1, 2002, to June 27, 2019. From June 27, 2019, he was granted a separate 10 percent rating for two painful and/or unstable scars. The Board denied the Veteran's claims as there is no evidence of more than one or two painful and/or unstable scars from January 1, 2002, to June 27, 2019.