The Board denied the veteran's petition to reopen his claim of service connection for a musculoskeletal disability, finding that the new evidence submitted did not bear directly and substantially upon the specific matter under consideration.
The deciding factor: The newly submitted evidence does not provide competent medical evidence of a nexus between rheumatic fever and any orthopedic or neurological disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- musculoskeletal disability, rheumatic fever
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2008
- Citation
- 0802534
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 0802534.
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: Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for several conditions, including low back disability and diabetes mellitus, type II, were granted. The claim for rheumatic fever was remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the appeal for further development due to new evidence added since the April 2024 supplemental statement of the case and consideration of both the former and revised versions of the rating criteria.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to consider certain private medical records and because of the need for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's musculoskeletal disability is related to his service, specifically through exposure to burn pits.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for several issues including earlier effective dates and increased disability ratings for heart conditions, as well as a total disability rating based on individual unemployability. The Veteran's private treatment records are missing and need to be obtained.
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