The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for painful scars on the neck and ear was denied as his scars are not unstable or painful enough to warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The scars were found to be stable and non-painful, thus not meeting the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 7804.
- Claimed conditions
- anemia, diabetes, heart failure, kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100149
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a vitamin D deficiency and remanded claims for coronary artery disease, status post femoral bypass, chronic kidney disease, and anemia due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to obtain a new medical opinion due to errors in previous examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for kidney disease, mass on kidney, and thyroidectomy was withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney representative.
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