The Board denied service connection for essential hypertension and a chronic acquired low back disorder, finding no evidence of such conditions in service or within one year post-service.
The deciding factor: There was no medical evidence linking the claimed conditions to active service.
- Claimed conditions
- essential hypertension, chronic acquired low back disorder including herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP), degenerative joint disease (DJD) and degenerative disc disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2003
- Citation
- 0313367
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 0313367.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for essential hypertension as the Veteran's blood pressure did not meet the criteria for a 10 percent rating, and remanded the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating due to individual unemployability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted readjudication of the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and relevant evidence being submitted after the prior denial.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for essential hypertension, bilateral keratoconjunctivitis sicca, pancreatic issues, interstitial lung disease, respiratory bronchial problems, and bilateral tinnitus due to a pre-decisional error in not attempting to reschedule VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as the November 2023 TERA opinions are inadequate.
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