Scars Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his lumbar spine disability are remanded due to the inadequacy of the August 2018 VA Back Conditions examination.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeals for several of the service-connected conditions and rating increases.

The Veteran's request for a higher rating for her painful scar of the right hip and a 20 percent rating for her right ankle disability are denied. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to determine if the Veteran has a lumbar spine disability due to her service-connected bilateral hip disabilities.

The Veteran's service connection for left hand arthritis and the earlier effective date of his service connection for a left elbow scar are granted. The Veteran is also assigned an initial 10 percent rating for his service-connected left elbow scar.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal, finding that the grant of service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis was clearly and unmistakably erroneous due to a misrepresentation of his active duty service duration.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected chloracne with residual scarring of the face and upper back is remanded due to a pre-decisional error in notifying him about a scheduled examination.

The Veteran's service-connected right upper extremity disabilities prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment, warranting a TDIU effective January 31, 2019.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 7, 2017, to May 17, 2018.

The Board has remanded the case due to a disagreement with the initial rating assigned for the right hip scar. The Veteran's testimony at his hearing suggested he experienced muscle issues related to the scar, but there is doubt about his credibility regarding these symptoms. The Board will schedule an examination to determine if the scar involves any muscle groups and assign an appropriate rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, and the Board found no basis to assign an earlier effective date.

The Veteran's initial claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for her status post left salpingo-oophorectomy scar was denied. The effective date for the grant of service connection for peripheral neuropathy musculocutaneous nerve associated with her surgery was set at November 18, 2014.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for her peripheral neuropathy musculocutaneous nerve associated with her surgery remains pending.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the severity of his right closed proximal tibia-fibula fracture and linear scar.,The Board finds that additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran has three or more scars that are unstable or painful, which would warrant a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 7804.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus has been reopened and granted. The claims for left knee, right knee, low back, scar from hernia surgery, and heart conditions are still pending and will be remanded for further development.,New evidence received since the last final denial supports reopening the claims for tinnitus, but additional information is needed to determine if any of these conditions were incurred or aggravated during periods of ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's knee disorders, migraines, and upper extremity scars are related to service. However, due to inadequate VA examinations, the Board is remanding these claims for further evaluation.

The Board has granted effective dates of June 22, 2021 for the grant of service connection for right hip osteoarthritis with hip joint replacement and status post right hip replacement surgery scars.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals of the increased rating claims for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, right knee, and status post meniscotomy scars, left knee.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for erectile dysfunction was granted, but his claims for initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for scars, GERD with ulcers, and vertigo/syncope were remanded due to insufficient evidence.,The Board acknowledged the Veteran's assertions of secondary service connection for these conditions but found that additional medical opinions were needed.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's right shoulder disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities on an extraschedular basis, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, resulting in the grant of TDIU.