The Board found no evidence of a present back disorder related to active service and denied the veteran's claims for service connection. For systolic heart murmur with mitral insufficiency, the Board noted that it is a congenital or developmental defect not considered a disability for VA compensation purposes.
The deciding factor: There was no competent medical evidence linking the current back disorder to service, and the systolic heart murmur with mitral insufficiency was determined to be a congenital condition not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disorder, Systolic Heart Murmur with Mitral Insufficiency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 24, 2000
- Citation
- 0019359
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 0019359.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a back disorder, and a gynecological disorder to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for multiple service-connected conditions and denied service connection for several additional conditions, including tinnitus, chronic sinusitis, left sciatic radicular pain of the left leg, traumatic brain injury (TBI), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome, and a back disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for PTSD and back disorder, granted an increased rating of 50% for migraine headaches from December 2, 2020, but denied increased ratings for left foot amputation and scars.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood is rated at 70 percent, but no higher. The claims for service connection for PTSD, a back disorder, and a left hip disorder are remanded.
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