The Board found that the evidence submitted since the January 1991 rating decision is not new and material, thus denying the petitions to reopen claims of service connection for a back disorder, left arm and elbow disorder, and bipolar disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show a current relationship between any of these conditions and service, despite showing current diagnoses.
- Claimed conditions
- back disorder, left arm and elbow disorder, bipolar disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0407843
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 386 · Granted: 25% (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 0407843.
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 has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to provide notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
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