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Denied

The Veteran's claim for a clothing allowance due to orthopedic shoes and insoles was denied because the VA form did not list any service-connected skin condition that caused damage to his outer garments. The Veteran is encouraged to file a new claim if he wants benefits related to medications used for pseudofolliculitis barbae.

The deciding factor: The Veteran's application did not include information about a service-connected skin disorder causing damage to clothing, which was required for the allowance.

Claimed conditions
bilateral pes planus, pseudofolliculitis barbae, PTSD
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 16, 2019
Citation
19128990

Veterans Law Judge

Michael J. Skaltsounis

Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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 19128990.

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

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