Scars Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of the veteran's service-connected conditions. The veteran is also advised that he can represent himself in this matter.

The veteran's claim for a compensable rating for infertility and an increased rating for scarring prior to July 2003 was denied. The RO found that the veteran does not have any disabling manifestations associated with service-connected infertility, and his scars do not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The Board denied an earlier effective date for the total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, finding that April 11, 2002 was the earliest date from which a total rating may be assigned.

The veteran's non-service connected disabilities, including a chronic low back disorder and obesity, are deemed to render him unemployable. As such, he is not eligible for SDVI.

The veteran's TDIU claim is granted due to his service-connected disabilities, which include PTSD, cervical spine disability, and a zygomaticomaxillary process fracture. The combined rating for these conditions is 70 percent.

The Board has denied service connection for a respiratory disorder and a back disability. The veteran's residual scar of a projectile shell injury to the right buttock was granted, but with a noncompensable rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that new evidence did not warrant reopening a claim of alcoholism and APC addiction. The rating for scars was denied as there was no evidence of more than slight or moderate disfigurement. The deviated nasal septum was rated at 10% due to complete obstruction on one side.

The Board has determined that the veteran's facial scars involving the nose, lips, right cheek and right forehead meet the criteria for a 30 percent evaluation based on disfigurement of the head, face or neck with two characteristics of disfigurement.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a personal hearing at the RO, as requested.

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection and evaluations for his claimed conditions, including bilateral defective hearing, intermittent lateral epicondylitis of the left arm with recurring numbness, chronic lumbar strain, and hypopigmented scarring due to undiagnosed rash.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to procedural issues, including the need for a Statement of the Case on his claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for left testicular pain with atrophy of the left testicle. The RO must also schedule him for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The Board found no service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and denied entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.

The Board found that the January 1979 rating decision did not contain CUE and affirmed it. The veteran's claims for increased ratings remain pending.

The Board has determined that the veteran's fungus of the fingernails and toenails, residuals of jungle fever, and scar as a residual of a shell fragment wound of the right upper extremity are not related to his military service. Therefore, these claims for service connection have been denied.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for the residuals of a coccyx area laceration, including cocodynia and a tender scar, is granted. The VA physician diagnosed the veteran to have cocodynia and a tender scar resulting from the laceration he sustained in service.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board finds that the veteran did not have scarlet fever during service and does not have a current cardiovascular disability attributable to such condition. The claim is denied.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and residuals of scarlet fever. Further development is needed to determine if these conditions are related to military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for a scar on the lower lip and right shoulder strain, as well as his requests for initial ratings in excess of 30 percent for PTSD and 10 percent for dermatitis. The evidence did not support these claims.

The veteran seeks increased evaluations for his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability. The case is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including obtaining medical records and conducting examinations.