The Board concludes that the veteran's Buerger's Disease had its onset during active duty service, and grants service connection.
The deciding factor: There is at least an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence as to whether the veteran's current Buerger's Disease first manifested during active duty service. The Board resolves doubt in favor of the veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Buerger's Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2009
- Citation
- 0904317
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0904317.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for bilateral lower extremity amputations was denied due to the conclusion that his additional disability did not result from VA negligence, carelessness, or lack of proper skill. The service connection claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and TDIU were also denied as there is no persuasive evidence linking these conditions to military service or a service-connected disability.
- Partly granted
The Board finds that the Veteran's in-service right knee injury caused Buerger's Disease, which was related to coronary artery disease and his cause of death. The criteria for service connection have been met.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further medical evaluation is needed to determine if the veteran's diabetes mellitus contributed to his death from septic shock. The appeal will be remanded for this purpose.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for nicotine dependence and Buerger's disease, finding that the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1103 prohibit such awards due to the prohibition on compensation for disabilities resulting from tobacco use in service.
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