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Whole decision: Denied

The veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, and increased ratings for the low back disorder, right knee disorder, right wrist disorder, left shoulder disorder, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity were denied.

The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the veteran's hemorrhoids were aggravated by his military service or that any of his service-connected disabilities had increased in severity beyond their natural progression.

Claimed conditions
tinnitus, hemorrhoids, post-traumatic degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine (low back disorder), degenerative changes of the right knee (right knee disorder), right knee disorder based upon instability, post-traumatic arthritis of the right wrist (right wrist disorder), left shoulder AC degenerative joint disease with rear of the supraspinious tendon (left shoulder disorder), radiculopathy of the left lower extremity
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
February 6, 2009
Citation
0904324

Veterans Law Judge

KATHLEEN K. GALLAGHER

Decisions by this judge: 1,013 · Granted: 17% (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 0904324.

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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