The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various gastrointestinal, respiratory, and neurological disorders, finding that they were not incurred or aggravated by his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence established that all of the veteran's diagnosed gastrointestinal symptoms had known etiologies (nicotine addiction), and there was no competent evidence linking any of the claimed conditions to his service.
- Claimed conditions
- joint pain, left foot or ankle injury, epicondylitis of the right elbow, hiatal hernia, polyp of the colon, gastroenteritis, ulcerative esophagitis, throat disorder or respiratory disorder, hand disorder, headaches, vasovagal response or seizure disorder, conjunctivitis, sleep apnea, depression or somatoform disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2000
- Citation
- 0029202
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 0029202.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
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