The Board granted a single initial 20 percent rating for the Veteran's painful and unstable pilonidal sinus removal scar and left small finger scar, effective from June 14, 2017, but denied an initial rating higher than 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The scars were found to be painful and unstable, warranting a single 20 percent rating under the applicable criteria, but no higher due to their limited impact on function.
- Claimed conditions
- pilonidal sinus removal scar, left small finger scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 17, 2025
- Citation
- 25013014
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 25013014.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial compensable ratings for pilonidal sinus removal scar and left small finger scar are being remanded due to potential worsening of the conditions since his last examination in June 2018. The VA must obtain any outstanding treatment records and schedule the Veteran for an appropriate examination.
- 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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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