The Board has dismissed the appeals of entitlement to service connection for residuals of shell fragment wounds to the lower back and left ankle as these issues have been resolved by the RO's decision awarding such service connection. The veteran's claim for an initial increased evaluation for his scar on the sole of the left foot is remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board has dismissed the appeals because the RO's decision to award service connection for the residuals of shell fragment wounds to the lower back and left ankle has been fully resolved, rendering these issues moot.
- Claimed conditions
- shell fragment wound to the lower back, shell fragment wound to the left ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 28, 2003
- Citation
- 0310244
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0310244.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The VA denied an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for the veteran's low back disorder, which currently stands at a maximum 40 percent rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case to the RO for additional development, including examinations by a neurologist and an orthopedist. The veteran seeks increased evaluations for his service-connected residuals of shell fragment wounds to the left ankle and forearm.
- Granted
The Board has granted a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's residuals of a shell fragment wound to the left ankle, with flexor pollicis tendon damage and hammertoe effect.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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