The Veteran is granted an annual VA clothing allowance for the year 2015 due to use of skin medications (Melaquin HP 4% Cream and Benzoyl Peroxide 10% Lotion). The other claims are denied.
The deciding factor: VA treatment records and private treatment records do not document any damage or wear and tear to eligible clothing due to the Veteran's left and right foot AFOs, but his shoes and socks do not qualify as clothing that can be worn and torn by these devices. The VHA Handbook does not list the Veteran’s particular AFO as an orthotic that may cause wear and tear to outergarments.
- Claimed conditions
- Chloracne, Right Foot Bunionectomy Residuals, Left Foot Bunionectomy Residuals, Right Ankle Arthritis, Left Ankle Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 85%
- Decision date
- December 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18156722
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 18156722.
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
Service connection for GERD is granted and a 10% rating for hypertension is granted.,Disfiguring scars of the face secondary to chloracne are granted with a 30% rating from August 6, 2020. A separate 20% rating for painful scars of the face secondary to chloracne is granted. From June 19, 2025, a higher rating for disfiguring scars of the face and painful scars of the right groin secondary to chloracne are denied.,An increased 20% rating for chloracne is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for arterioslerotic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, chloracne, dermatitis, folliculitis, actinic keratosis, and dyshydrosis have been granted.,Service connection is established for the Veteran's arterioslerotic heart disease to include status post coronary artery bypass graft from July 25, 2011. The hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and chloracne claims are also granted under presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right tarsal tunnel syndrome prior to May 8, 2025, and granted a 20 percent rating from that date. The other claims were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent evaluation for GERD and a 50 percent evaluation for cluster headaches, but denied an increased rating for right foot plantar fasciitis. The Veteran was also granted a 10 percent evaluation for external hemorrhoids effective May 19, 2024.
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