The VA has determined that the veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to their combined effect.
The deciding factor: The VA found that while the veteran's service-connected conditions are disabling, they do not prevent him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- healed scar, right chest, residual of thoracotomy with injury to muscle group II, pleurisy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- June 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0417210
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 680 · Granted: 24% (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 0417210.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for pleurisy and emphysema was granted with an effective date of September 20, 2024. The Board found that the Veteran continuously pursued the claim since September 20, 2024.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for pleurisy was dismissed because the VA Form 10182, which requested review of the denial of pleurisy service connection, constituted an impermissible concurrent election with his supplemental claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the onset and etiology of his left ankle sprain, pleurisy, and right shoulder disability. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional lay statements from the Veteran and a fellow servicemember, as well as an addendum opinion from a VA or private clinician.
- Dismissed
The appeals seeking service connection for various conditions are dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his requests through his authorized representative.
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