The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound (SFW) of the right arm with Muscle Group V involvement, currently rated at 30 percent. The claim for a compensable rating for otitis media was also denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the severity of the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound (SFW) of the right arm with Muscle Group V involvement, and there was no active or productive otitis media to warrant a compensable rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Otitis media, Residuals of a shell fragment wound (SFW) of the right arm with Muscle Group V involvement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- March 12, 2003
- Citation
- 0304511
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (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 0304511.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's otitis media, left ear was granted a 10 percent rating. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was denied any increase in rating.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for peripheral nervous system pain, to include rheumatoid arthritis, and granted an effective date of October 6, 2014, for the grant of service connection for left calf and left thumb scars. The remaining claims were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and otitis media to the agency of original jurisdiction for further development, including obtaining relevant private medical records.
- Granted
Service connection is granted for urinary incontinence as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine degenerative arthritis.,Service connection is granted for chronic fatigue syndrome as secondary to service-connected COPD with obstructive sleep apnea.,The Veteran's pleuritic chest pain claim remains pending and requires further examination and opinion.,The heart condition claim, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, is remanded due to the inextricably intertwined nature of the issues. A new opinion is needed regarding whether the heart condition is directly related to service.,Gastrointestinal disorder (including gastric ulcers and gastroenteritis but excluding IBS and GERD) claim remains pending and requires further examination and opinion.
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