The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations and effective dates, as well as his claim for service connection for a back disorder secondary to or aggravated by a left ankle disability. The issues of entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus are not before the Board due to lack of timely appeal.
The deciding factor: The veteran's claims were denied based on the absence of new and material evidence, failure to file timely appeals, or other procedural deficiencies.
- Claimed conditions
- back disorder (claimed as secondary to or aggravated by left ankle disability), left wrist disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0403762
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 0403762.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a left wrist disorder to obtain an addendum opinion, as the previous opinions were based on inaccurate factual premises.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left wrist disorder, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of his left wrist, as the evidence did not support a finding that he had no effective function in the hand other than what would be equally well served by an amputation stump at the site of election below the elbow with use of a suitable prosthetic appliance.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left wrist disorder and a higher initial disability rating for bilateral shin splints.
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