Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Denied

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a shell fragment/shrapnel wound to the left hip and peripheral neuropathy, as well as his claim of exposure to Agent Orange. The Board found no evidence of a shell fragment or shrapnel wound to the left hip in service records and concluded that the arthritis present was not related to any such injury. For peripheral neuropathy, the Board noted it was first diagnosed many years after service and did not find any medical evidence linking it to service.

The deciding factor: The veteran's shell fragment/shrapnel wound claim lacked supporting medical evidence of a current disability in connection with his service record. The peripheral neuropathy claim failed because there was no link between the condition and service, including exposure to Agent Orange.

Claimed conditions
peripheral neuropathy, shell fragment/shrapnel wound to the left hip
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
January 10, 2003
Citation
0300516

Veterans Law Judge

STEVEN L. COHN

Decisions by this judge: 396 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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 0300516.

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.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.