The Board denied the veteran's claims for reopening service connection due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as because he did not have service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not provide sufficient new and material evidence to reopen his previously denied claims for rheumatoid arthritis, gastrointestinal disorder, fatigue, chronic headache disorder, or a disorder producing memory loss due to undiagnosed illness. Additionally, he was not considered to have served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis, gastrointestinal disorder, fatigue, chronic headache disorder, disorder producing memory loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2002
- Citation
- 0213732
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 0213732.
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.
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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder, to include gastritis and leiomyoma of the stomach but other than IBS with colon polyps, due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service. The appeal was dismissed for hemorrhoids.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
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