The Board denied a higher initial rating for the veteran's service-connected HIV-related illness, finding that the evidence did not warrant such a rating based on current symptoms and medical records.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence showed intermittent constitutional symptoms including fatigue and occasional pulmonary infections without meeting criteria for an increased rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- HIV-related illness
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- February 14, 2003
- Citation
- 0302922
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 504 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0302922.
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 granted service connection for a psychiatric disorder due to military sexual trauma (MST) and remanded the claims for HIV-related illness, hypertension, left knee replacement, and sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and service connection, with some issues being remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating higher than 70 percent for major depressive disorder with anxious distress and a rating higher than 30 percent for HIV-related illness based on the evidence of record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claim for service connection of sleep apnea as secondary to HIV-related illness due to inadequate medical opinions. The Veteran will receive a new examination.
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