The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right knee arthritis, left knee disorder, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, residuals of a head injury, hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and a dental condition for compensation purposes.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence linking any of these conditions to the veteran's active service or to any incident therein. There was also no evidence of a diagnosis during service or within one year of separation from service, nor any competent medical opinion relating them to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee arthritis, left knee disorder, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, residuals of a head injury to include a depressed skull fracture, hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dental condition for compensation purposes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2008
- Citation
- 0814873
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 Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
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