The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for RA, as secondary to herbicide exposure. The RO previously denied this claim in April 1994 and the veteran appealed.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not demonstrate that the veteran's RA was due to herbicide exposure or any other event during his period of active military duty, including service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- RA
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 24, 2005
- Citation
- 0523280
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 0523280.
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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran does not have RA or pancreatitis that manifested during service or is otherwise related to service, including as secondary to herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
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