The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of gall bladder surgery as there was no evidence to support that the surgery occurred during his active duty or a period of active duty training.
The deciding factor: There is no clinical documentation supporting the veteran's reported history of gallbladder surgery while on active duty or active duty for training, and the RO made repeated efforts to obtain any records but found none.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of gall bladder surgery
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 14, 2004
- Citation
- 0418870
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0418870.
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: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and gall bladder surgery residuals render her unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment, meeting the criteria for a TDIU.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a bunionectomy (claimed as bunion left foot) due to the lack of evidence showing that the condition began during active service or was related to an in-service injury or disease.,The Board denied service connection for residuals of a uvulectomy because there is no indication that the appellant's disability developed during his period of active duty and it is not related to any in-service injury or disease.,The Board denied service connection for hypertension as there was no evidence showing its onset during active service or being related to an in-service injury or disease. The appellant did not serve in Southwest Asia or Vietnam, but he claimed exposure to environmental hazards from the Gulf War and Agent Orange.,The Board denied service connection for residuals of gall bladder surgery due to lack of evidence showing that the condition began during active service or was related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development to determine if the Veteran's residuals of gall bladder surgery are related to his first period of service from February 1956 to February 1968 and whether there is clear and unmistakable evidence that the condition was not aggravated by any periods of active service or active duty for training following his cholecystectomy in 1972/1973.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder on the basis that the criteria for service connection were not met. The RO continued to deny claims for service connection for residuals of gall bladder surgery, residuals of fracture of the mandible, bronchitis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
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