The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, finding that the evidence did not support a compensable evaluation or an earlier effective date.
The deciding factor: The evidence of record did not show that the scars were manifested by areas of 929 cm² or greater, nor was there any other disabling effect warranting a higher rating. For the effective date claim, no formal or informal claim for service connection was received within one year of discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- scars of the right lower extremity, scars of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (femoral nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25088472
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 715 · Granted: 43% (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 A25088472.
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: Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and ratings were denied.,The issue of entitlement to a Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) prior to April 19, 2019, is moot.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records, including those from the Miami VAMC and scanned into VistA.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a separate compensable disability rating for scars of the left lower extremity, as these scars should be included in the current 30 percent disability rating assigned for painful scars.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates of December 21, 2022, for the grants of service connection for adjustment disorder, arteriosclerotic heart disease, scars of the anterior trunk, scars of the left lower extremity, and hypertension (HTN).
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