The Board denied service connection for skin disorders of the hands and feet, as well as low back disability and degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine. The veteran's claims were not supported by medical evidence showing a current disability related to his military service.
The deciding factor: There was no competent medical evidence linking any current skin or musculoskeletal conditions to the veteran's military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Skin Disorder of the Hands, Skin Disorder of the Feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 12, 2002
- Citation
- 0207715
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0207715.
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 Board denied service connection for COPD, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and Skin Disorder of the Feet due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to active service or herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's current skin rash of the feet is not related to her active service, including any chemical burn she may have sustained during service. The evidence did not support a finding that the current condition was incurred or aggravated by service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have a chronic skin disorder of his feet, recurring cysts, or a right hip disorder at any time between his filing of a claim for service connection and his death. Therefore, these claims are denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Porphyria Cutanea Tarda was granted with an initial 40% evaluation effective May 31, 2007. The March 1998 rating decision contained clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in denying the earlier effective date of October 9, 1996.
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