The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating higher than 30 percent for left eye orbital floor fracture is denied.,The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating higher than 10 percent for left upper and lower eyelid scars is denied.,The Veteran lacks the legal grounds to establish entitlement to a 10 percent rating for multiple, noncompensable service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not demonstrate loss of skull resulting in an area larger than 1.140 sq. in. or a brain hernia to warrant a higher rating for left eye orbital floor fracture.,For the next-higher 30 percent rating to be warranted, the evidence must demonstrate visible or palpable tissue loss and either gross distortion or asymmetry of one feature or paired set of features or display two or three characteristics of disfigurement. The Veteran's scars do not meet these criteria.,The Veteran is already receiving compensable ratings for his service-connected disabilities (left eye orbital floor fracture with implant rated as 30 percent disabling, left upper and lower eyelid scars rated as 10 percent disabling). Therefore, he does not qualify for a 10 percent rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Left eye orbital floor fracture, Left upper and lower eyelid scars
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- Citation
- 24002653
Veterans Law Judge
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 24002653.
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