The Board denied service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease, left shoulder disability, hypertension, and low back disability as the preponderance of evidence was against a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty. The claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was not addressed.
The deciding factor: The lack of competent evidence showing a current diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease, left shoulder disability, hypertension, and low back disability, as well as no competent evidence linking these conditions to service, led to the denial of the claims. The Veteran's statements alone were insufficient to establish a nexus between his claimed disabilities and active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- gastroesophageal reflux disease, hypertension, left shoulder disability including degenerative joint disease of the left shoulder, low back disability including degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0904952
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 0904952.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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