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Whole decision: Denied

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not cause a serious employment handicap, and she is not eligible for vocational rehabilitation benefits under Chapter 31.

The deciding factor: The veteran has maintained stable employment as a cook despite her service-connected disabilities, and there is no evidence of significant impairment in her ability to prepare for, obtain, or retain suitable employment consistent with her abilities, aptitudes, and interests.

Claimed conditions
Residuals of encephalitis (10%), Post-operative laparotomy (noncompensable), Bilateral cystectomy (noncompensable), Dermoid cysts (noncompensable)
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
April 4, 2008
Citation
0811168

Veterans Law Judge

Dennis F. Chiappetta

Decisions by this judge: 325 · Granted: 20% (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 0811168.

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.

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