Scars decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for PTSD, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, right hand scars, back scars, residuals of shrapnel injury, and residuals of gunshot injuries but denied service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board granted a disability rating of 70 percent for service-connected PTSD prior to November 6, 2019, but denied the same rating from that date onward. The appeal was withdrawn for the left hand burn scar claim.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a neck disability and burn scars due to inadequate VA examination opinions.

The Veteran was granted initial disability ratings of 40 percent for temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), 20 percent for right eye cataract, and 10 percent for right eye corneal scar.

The Board remands the issues of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance/homebound for further development.

The Board granted service connection for PTSD due to MST and denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, a scar from hernia surgery, a bowel condition, carpal tunnel syndrome in both upper extremities, and tinnitus.

The Board granted the petition to readjudicate the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a urinary disorder, but denied the petition for neck and facial scars.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and a scar of the head. The tinnitus was rated at 10 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment, and a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted.

The Board granted the Veteran's appeal for service connection and an earlier effective date, awarding a 100% rating for acoustic schwannoma status post resection with vertigo and staggered gait to include right hemiplegia stroke and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board dismissed the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for heart, left knee scar, hearing loss, right finger, granuloma, and lipoma disabilities due to the Veteran's withdrawal.

The Board granted service connection for skin cancer, to include as due to Agent Orange exposure, and scars of the head, face, neck, and body as secondary to skin cancer.

The Board denied service connection for sensorineural hearing loss and remanded the remaining claims for further development.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and restored the 10 percent rating for a deviated nasal septum, while denying a compensable rating for a frontal scalp scar.

The Board granted service connection for lower back disability as secondary to right foot plantar fasciitis and a separate 10 percent rating under DC 7804, but denied increased ratings for the other conditions.

The Board denied a compensable disability rating for colon cancer prior to March 23, 2021 and an increased rating thereafter, as well as remanded claims for asbestosis and scar, status post colon cancer due to inadequate VA examinations.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for post-traumatic arthritis, right ankle and denied an initial compensable rating for scar residual laceration of forehead as well as a rating in excess of 10 percent for painful scar, residual, laceration of forehead. The claims for service connection for headaches, anxiety, and insomnia secondary to the service-connected scar residual laceration of forehead were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and a back scar. The claim for GERD and an acquired psychiatric disorder was denied.

The appeal was denied for a compensable rating of the left hip post-operative scar, while the claim for service connection of the right knee disorder was remanded.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for increased ratings of various left-hand conditions, including thumb neuropathy, hand scars, and thumb disability.