The veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 was denied as there is no evidence of additional disability caused by VA treatment, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that such disability was due to negligence or other fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not attribute the veteran's complaints of abdominal pain to any of the factors related to his previous gallbladder surgery. The degenerative joint disease in his lumbar spine and atherosclerosis were not attributed to the retained metallic clips from the previous surgery or other consequences of the surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, atherosclerosis, hiatal hernia, liver disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2003
- Citation
- 0302459
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 0302459.
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.
- 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 chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, hiatal hernia, COPD, and prostate cancer as a result of toxic exposure during the Veteran's military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent disability rating for GERD and hiatal hernia, effective March 31, 2020, but denied an earlier effective date and a higher initial rating.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hiatal hernia but denied it for obstructive sleep apnea.
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