The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims recently remanded our client’s claim for a compensable rating for eczema. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals had denied this claim based on an inadequate medical examination that overlooked critical evidence.

When the VA provides a medical examination, it must be thorough, accurate, and based on reasoned medical judgment. However, the Board relied on a January 2020 VA examination that underreported the extent of our client’s eczema. The examiner recorded affected areas across her chest, neck, back, arms, and legs but did not detail the size or appearance of each patch. Despite observing multiple affected areas, the examiner concluded that less than five percent of her body was impacted without explaining this calculation.

Our client testified in 2018 and 2022 about widespread eczema, describing affected areas covering her chest, back, arms, legs, and stomach. However, the Board dismissed her statements, incorrectly assuming she lacked the competence to estimate the eczema’s coverage on her body. Her testimony, consistent with the examiner’s observations, clearly indicated a broader impact of eczema than the Board acknowledged. Part of our argument centered around the rule that veterans are competent to report their lay observations of medical conditions and symptoms.

The remand order requires the Board to secure a new, comprehensive examination that thoroughly assesses the full scope of our client’s eczema. The order was jointly drafted with attorneys for VA. This victory ensures a fair review of her claim and underscores the VA’s responsibility to accurately evaluate veterans’ disability claims, reinforcing the importance of complete and accurate medical examinations.