The Veteran's claim for service connection and compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for scars and residuals following a rhytidectomy was denied, as the evidence did not show that VA care caused his additional disability. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss prior to May 8, 2021 was rated at 20 percent, while after this date it was rated at 40 percent.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of carelessness, negligence, or fault on the part of VA in causing the Veteran's scars and residuals. The hearing loss prior to May 8, 2021 met the criteria for a 20 percent rating based on audiometric testing results.
- Claimed conditions
- scars, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21063106
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,020 · Granted: 19% (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 21063106.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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