The veteran's secondary service connection claim for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident is denied. The effective date for the increased rating of hypertension remains November 19, 1997 due to lack of evidence showing an increase within one year prior to the claim. The heart disability is rated at 30 percent and the veteran's appeal for higher ratings is denied.
The deciding factor: The motor vehicle accident was not caused by service-connected conditions or medications prescribed for them, thus secondary service connection is not warranted. The effective date of the increased rating for hypertension cannot be earlier than November 19, 1997 as there is no evidence showing an increase in severity within one year prior to the claim. The heart disability is rated at 30 percent under the old criteria and higher ratings are not supported by the evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease - status post inferior wall myocardial infarction, Hypertension, Multiple injuries sustained in a September 1996 motor vehicle accident
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2004
- Citation
- 0414355
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0414355.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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