The Veteran's claim for service connection for Porphyria Cutanea Tarda was granted with an initial 40% evaluation effective May 31, 2007. The March 1998 rating decision contained clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in denying the earlier effective date of October 9, 1996.
The deciding factor: The RO failed to consider VA records constructively of record that showed treatment for a skin disorder of the hands dating back to the 1980s, which supported the Veteran's claim of continuity of symptoms since service.
- Claimed conditions
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT), Skin Disorder of the Hands
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 21, 2011
- Citation
- 1142702
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 1142702.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) due to it being a presumptively associated disease with herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical examination and unclear rating criteria application. The Veteran's skin disability is now rated as Porphyria Cutanea Tarda with dyshidrotic eczema, effective August 22, 2019.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus was denied, and his service connection claim for a skin condition including PCT due to herbicide exposure was remanded. The Board found no evidence of diabetic complications warranting separate ratings or any compensable conditions related to the Veteran's diabetes. For the skin condition claim, the Board noted that there is no record of a diagnosis of PCT and the Veteran’s current skin disabilities are not linked to his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a skin disability, diagnosed as Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT), is reopened and granted due to herbicide agent exposure. The Board found that the evidence supports the diagnosis of PCT.
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