The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right scapular instability, status post serratus palsy, post-operative flexor tendon transplant of the right thumb, and scar of the forehead, do not meet the criteria for a TDIU rating due to their combined disability rating of 50 percent. The Board found that the Veteran is not unemployable solely due to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not been found to preclude him from all gainful employment, but they do limit his ability to lift heavy objects and perform certain tasks.
- Claimed conditions
- right scapular instability, status post serratus palsy, post-operative flexor tendon transplant of the right thumb, scar of the forehead
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0940388
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0940388.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
An earlier effective date of September 8, 1994, for a 10 percent rating for scar of the forehead is granted. An initial rating in excess of 40 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and disc disease prior to August 24, 2023, is denied. A grant of service connection for painful scar of the forehead effective September 16, 2021, and an initial 40 percent rating from August 24, 2023, are granted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 10 percent for the Veteran's scar of the forehead, as it has been painful throughout the appeal period.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude all substantially gainful employment for which his education and occupational experience would otherwise qualify him. The Board finds that the criteria for a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities are not met.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's appeal was not timely filed following the issuance of a Statement of the Case on February 5, 2014. As such, his claims for increased rating and service connection were denied.
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