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 assigned
- 50%
- 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0940388.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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