The Board denied service connection for a thoracic spine disability and a gastrointestinal disability as there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and the conditions were not shown to be related to military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current thoracic spine and gastrointestinal disabilities to his period of active service. The first evidence of these conditions occurred many years after service, and there are no records indicating an in-service injury or disease that could have caused them.
- Claimed conditions
- thoracic spine disability, gastrointestinal disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0901331
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 0901331.
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 has remanded the case due to the need for further development and consideration of the appellant's theory that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his obesity, which contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a gastrointestinal disability due to procedural issues and will consider any additional evidence provided by the RO.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider whether the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability is related to his service or service-connected PTSD.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for gastrointestinal disability, left foot disability, and right foot disability due to deficiencies in the VA medical opinions provided. The appellant's lay statements will be considered along with the existing evidence.
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