The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for scars of the head and face prior to June 8, 2017, and a rating in excess of 30 percent thereafter is remanded due to lack of color photographs associated with the claims file.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not evaluate or submit into the record any color photographs relating to the scars of the head and face, which was required by the Board's previous remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- scars of the head and face
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2022
- Citation
- 22026743
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 22026743.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for scars of the head and face in June 1972, finding that they were no more than slightly disfiguring. The Veteran's representative argued that the evidence showed moderate rather than slight disfigurement.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected obstructive airway disease and scars do not substantially contribute to his impairment of employability, and he has overcome the effects of such impairment. Therefore, he does not meet the criteria for vocational rehabilitation services.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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