Skin conditions (dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis) Board decisions

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected nummular eczema is being remanded due to the need for further evidentiary development, including obtaining recent treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's service connection claim for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB) was granted as the condition is considered to be directly related to his active duty service.

The Board denied service connection for a skin rash and bilateral PVD with extensive vascular calcification, finding no evidence of continuity of symptoms after discharge from service or any link to active service. The Veteran's STRs contained complaints and treatment for miliaria and scratch dermatitis but no diagnosis of eczema or seborrhea. Post-service records indicate the first indication of a skin rash was in 2003, approximately 35 years after discharge.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to her failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The case will be returned for further action.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as his conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board found that the submitted evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the underlying claim for service connection for a neck disorder.,The Board also found that the submitted evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the underlying claim for service connection for a low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current skin conditions, tinea pedis and onychomycosis of the great toes, are related to service. The Veteran is competent to describe his symptoms in service, which aligns with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service.

The Veteran's eczema is rated at 10 percent, the lowest available rating under VA's rating criteria for this condition. The disability does not meet or approximate the next higher schedular rating of 30 percent.

The VA determined that the Veteran's skin disorder other than pruritus ani is not related to his military service, including as due to exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange. The Board found no evidence of a connection between current dermatological conditions and his time in service.

The Veteran's skin disease, including psoriasis and a benign tumor or tumors, was not found to be related to service-connected right below-the-knee amputation. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, vascular disease (exclusive of peripheral vascular disease of the right lower extremity), arthritis of the cervical and lumbar spine, and kidney failure were all determined to be unrelated to military service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional treatment records.

The Veteran's service-connected eczema does not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent evaluation based on the current evidence of record.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a video hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Veteran's claim to reopen the issue of entitlement to service connection for a skin condition was received by VA on March 5, 2002. The effective date assigned is March 5, 2002, as that is when the claim was received. However, the date entitlement arose was in March 1971, and thus the proper effective date for the award of service connection for atopic dermatitis is March 5, 2002.

The Board found that the Veteran's diagnosed comedonal acne is etiologically related to his military service and granted service connection for a skin disorder, claimed as chloracne, due to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's right knee disability was granted a 10 percent rating from February 18, 2009 to June 2, 2009. From December 2, 2008, the claim for a 10 percent rating under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324 was denied as it lacked legal merit.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the schedular requirements for assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Veteran is unable to secure or follow any substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities, and the Board finds that he meets the criteria for a TDIU.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development due to missing records and incomplete file reconstruction.

The Veteran's service-connected PFB does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under the revised skin regulations. His traumatic arthritis, residuals, thoracolumbar spine, is not manifested by incapacitating episodes or neurological complaints and thus does not warrant a higher than 20 percent rating.