The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable initial rating for right shoulder scars due to their small size and lack of additional symptoms, and remanded the claim for varicocele as there was no recent in-person examination.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that the Veteran's right shoulder scars met the criteria for a compensable rating under applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder scars, varicocele
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25022831
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 869 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A25022831.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral restless leg syndrome, bilateral tremors of the hands, chronic headaches, facial dermatosis, erectile dysfunction (loss of use of a creative organ due to varicocele), and varicocele. The Veteran's symptoms have been observed since his time in service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an effective date prior to December 7, 2015, for the award of service connection for varicocele and epididymitis has been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal request.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a right knee disability and denied service connection for right shoulder scars. The claims for peripheral neuropathy of the left thumb, a right ankle disorder, and a left ankle disorder were remanded.
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