The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on direct evidence of injury or illness during active duty, without reliance on a presumption or secondary condition.
- Claimed conditions
- ear infections, facial laceration scar, hearing loss, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), residuals of cold-weather injuries to the feet, residuals of cold-weather injuries to the hands, residuals of frostbite to both ears, shell fragment wound to the right leg, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 21, 2003
- Citation
- 0305330
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 0305330.
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 granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and denied increased ratings for right shoulder impingement syndrome, hearing loss, painful scar, patellofemoral pain syndromes of the knees, and other conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include unspecified depressive disorder with social anxiety disorder and PTSD, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
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