The Board found that the veteran's claim for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes cannot be established without a current VA examination, but he failed to appear for scheduled examinations. The RO recognized additional evidence received after the December 1998 denial, including diagnoses of neck condition, bilateral patellofemoral syndrome, and dyspnea on exertion.
The deciding factor: The veteran's failure to report for scheduled VA examinations without good cause resulted in a denial of his claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right thumb fracture, low back injury, chronic bronchitis with intermittent asthma and tonsillitis, sinusitis, rheumatoid arthritis and recurrent arthritis, inguinal hernia, left wrist damage, recurrent headaches without neurological sequelae, hypertension, lipoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 6, 2003
- Citation
- 0303911
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (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 0303911.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
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