Scars Board decisions

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to withdrawal by the appellant's authorized representative.

The Board found that the Veteran's chronic acne with scars did not have its onset in service and is not otherwise related to her military service, thus denying her claim for service connection.

The Board is remanding the case to consider the collective impact of all the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss disability, on his disability picture and whether it renders the schedular evaluations inadequate for an extra-schedular rating.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for right eye scar with decreased visual acuity prior to April 22, 2014 was denied. The claim for a higher than 10 percent rating for the same condition beginning April 22, 2014 was also denied.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining outstanding records and a VA evaluation by a vocational specialist.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are of such severity as to effectively preclude all forms of substantially gainful employment for which the Veteran's education and occupational experience would otherwise qualify her.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for hypertension was withdrawn. The effective date of the increased rating for hypertension is set at December 4, 2009.

The Veteran's post-operative right knee disability is not entitled to a temporary total rating under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.30, and his claims for separate compensable evaluations and TDIU are denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied, but he was granted a higher rating of 60% for his hearing loss disability effective May 29, 2013. The earlier effective date claim is dismissed as the April 2012 decision became final.

The Veteran's service-connected left eye disability (residuals of left pterygium excision with nasal peripheral corneal scarring and neovascularization) is not shown to cause any visual impairment or conjunctivitis, and has not resulted in disfigurement.,A compensable rating is not warranted for the veteran's service-connected left eye disability.

The Veteran's anterior chest scar is rated at 10 percent, but he has a separate rating for his muscle injury in Muscle Group XXI. The Board denied the request for an increased rating for the scar and granted a separate rating for the muscle injury.

The Veteran's service-connected compression fracture, T7-T9 with spondylosis and IVDS, status-post laminectomy of the thoracic spine, is currently rated at 20 percent. The other issues are not addressed as they do not involve service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to August 16, 2013 were rated at 70 percent for PTSD with depression. These conditions rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his physical impairments.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation since August 25, 2015. The Board has determined that the criteria for TDIU on a schedular basis are met.

The Veteran's scar in the left anterior groin is rated at 10 percent, effective from the date of claim. The residuals other than a scar are not service-connected.

The Board has granted service connection for the claimed conditions and assigned an initial disability rating of 10 percent, effective from the date of the decision.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the severity of his residuals from left distal radius fractures and associated scars, as well as to assess whether his headaches are related to service-connected anxiety or in-service meningitis.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination and additional development of records, including private treatment records from Kaiser Permanente.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling VA examinations and obtaining medical records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining updated VA examinations and records.