The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating, finding that his skin disorder did not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent based on the applicable schedular criteria.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examination revealed stable pseudofolliculitis barbae with no systemic symptoms or need for systemic therapy. The veteran's face was affected by the disorder, but less than 20% of his total body area and exposed areas were involved.
- Claimed conditions
- folliculitis barbae
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2004
- Citation
- 0400484
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0400484.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's lumbosacral strain, left ankle disability, folliculitis barbae, migraines, and tinnitus are all found to be related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of his IVDS with degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine is being remanded. His service connection claim for folliculitis barbae is also being remanded.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for TMJ and remanded the issue of service connection for folliculitis barbae due to a pre-decisional error in not considering relevant STRs.
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