The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB) has been denied. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for a psychiatric disorder and referred the TDIU claim to the Director of Compensation.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a higher rating for PFB, as it was found that less than 5% of the exposed area was affected by dermatitis and no systemic therapy or immunosuppressive drugs were used. The Veteran's lay statements regarding increased symptomatology were considered insufficient to grant a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), Psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185282
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board grants the appeal for readjudicating the claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder due to new and relevant evidence being received.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent initial evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder and TDIU, but remanded claims for service connection for diabetes, lumbar condition, cervical condition, lung condition, and left and right lower extremity neuropathy.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for erectile dysfunction, right knee strain, left knee strain, pseudofolliculitis barbae, somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain and generalized anxiety disorder, and throbbing head pain on a direct basis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and denied increased ratings for various disabilities including back, lower extremity radiculopathy, knee, facial scar, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and erectile dysfunction.
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