The Board has granted a 50% evaluation for bilateral varicose veins effective May 8, 1997. Prior to that date, the veteran's condition was rated at 30%. The current rating of 20% in each leg is higher than what was previously granted.
The deciding factor: The veteran's bilateral varicose veins were found to be severe with sacculation and distortion from May 8, 1997 onwards, meeting the criteria for a 50% evaluation under the old rating criteria. The new rating criteria effective January 12, 1998 each leg is evaluated separately, resulting in separate 20% ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral varicose veins
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0400063
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0400063.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes mellitus type II and bilateral varicose veins due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. The Veteran's service connection claims are not granted as there is no direct evidence linking his conditions to his active service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hyperlipidemia and right ear hearing loss, but remanded claims for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), diabetes mellitus type II, mixed component of obstructive and central sleep apnea, and bilateral varicose veins.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC), due to insufficient evidence of current disabilities related to service or functional impairment.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis and bilateral varicose veins, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his active duty service.
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