The veteran's service-connected hidradenitis suppurativa requires topical and antibacterial therapy, but that therapy is not equivalent to systemic therapy such as corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs. The active manifestations of the disability involve less than 20 percent of the entire body and less than 20 percent of exposed areas of the body, and are not manifested by permanent gross distortion or asymmetry of one feature or a paired set of features.
The deciding factor: The veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa was characterized at least 50 percent of the time by exudation or ulceration requiring surgical drainage or excision, warranting a 30 percent evaluation under the revised criteria for skin disorders effective August 30, 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- hidradenitis suppurativa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- February 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0605013
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,515 · Granted: 20% (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 0605013.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa is rated at 10 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA regulations.,The Veteran's tension headaches do not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating as there are no characteristic prostrating attacks averaging one in two months over the last several months.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hidradenitis suppurativa, a cyst condition that the Veteran first experienced during active duty in 2008. The decision is based on the Veteran's competent lay testimony and medical evidence showing current disability and continuity of symptoms since service.
- Dismissed
The appeal regarding the denial of service connection for hidradenitis suppurativa, a bilateral armpit disability, in a June 2016 rating decision is dismissed due to procedural defects.
- Granted
The Veteran's hidradenitis suppurativa is granted a 60 percent disability rating, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for TDIU has been remanded.
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