The VA determined that the veteran's right hand scar does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under the old rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show any symptoms or functional impairment of the scar that would warrant a higher rating than noncompensable.
- Claimed conditions
- Right hand scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0608322
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 0608322.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disability, a right hand scar, and residuals of a right leg injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for PTSD and right hand scar, but denied service connection for other claimed conditions including diabetes type II, erectile dysfunction, headaches, heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, left shoulder injury, left hand injury, lower back injury, right shoulder injury, upper back injury, and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Denied
The Board denied all initial disability ratings for the veteran's low back, left foot, left little finger, right wrist, tinnitus, and scars disabilities, except for a separate 10 percent evaluation for a painful scar of the back.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and a right hand scar to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.