The Board has determined that the veteran's injuries sustained in a March 1973 motor vehicle accident were not incurred during or as a result of his National Guard service. As such, the claims for service connection for the residuals of a fractured rib and left pneumothorax are denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found it may not be presumed that the March 10, 1973 accident occurred on a day on which the veteran had inactive duty training, thus the injuries sustained in that accident were not causally related to his National Guard service.
- Claimed conditions
- fractured rib, left pneumothorax
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 7, 2008
- Citation
- 0826602
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 0826602.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a review to properly determine the severity of the Veteran's throat cancer residuals, including peripheral neuropathy, loss of dentition, dry mouth, hoarseness, GERD, shortness of breath, left pneumothorax, and rhonchi conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities for the period on appeal prior to May 31, 2016.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for right and left pneumothorax, finding that his correspondence did not constitute a valid Notice of Disagreement.
- Whole decision: Granted
The appeal is granted for service connection of PTSD, extraction of 4 wisdom teeth, fractured rib, left ankle pain, left knee pain, left wrist pain, refractive eye surgery, and right shoulder bursitis. The appeals of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and entitlement to service connection for right shoulder bursitis are dismissed as moot.
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