The Board found that the veteran's vitiligo was present prior to service and did not increase in severity during service, thus denying his claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: There is no clinical evidence documenting any treatment for vitiligo during either of the veteran's periods of service. The condition was present on the feet before service and remained unchanged after service.
- Claimed conditions
- vitiligo
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2003
- Citation
- 0308161
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 0308161.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for vitiligo has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for vitiligo and gastrointestinal disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, right hand disability, left hand disability, and other knee and ankle disabilities. The decision also addressed the rating of PTSD.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for allergic rhinitis and denied increased ratings for vitiligo, bilateral pes planus, right great toe gout, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's dry eye syndrome is granted service connection due to an in-service injury. Several other claims for service connection are remanded.
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