The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for shrapnel wounds to his right hip and heart disease, as well as increased ratings for other disabilities. The decision also noted that an issue regarding a back disability was remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support service connection for either condition due to lack of medical evidence linking the conditions to service or any service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disease (endocarditis with mitral valve replacement), shrapnel wound, right hip
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- March 19, 2004
- Citation
- 0407261
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,555 · Granted: 19% (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 0407261.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's increased rating claims for residuals of a right hip shell fragment wound and scars, right hip. The evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case for further development to consider whether a formal or informal claim for TDIU was pending prior to September 4, 1997 and if so, whether the veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of all service-connected disabilities prior to that date.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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