The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings, finding that the evidence did not support a connection between his current disabilities and military service or warrant higher disability ratings.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence linking the Veteran's current bilateral hip arthritis to his military service. The evidence also did not support higher ratings for the other conditions as they were not shown to be more severe than currently rated.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hip disability, Arthritis, C-5 and C-6 with narrowing of C-5 interspace, Degenerative disc disease, arthritis, T-9, T-10 with narrowing of interspace curvature, lumbosacral spine, and radiculitis of right lower extremity, Peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity associated with type II diabetes mellitus with impotence, early neuropathy, and nephropathy with bilateral cataracts, Peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity associated with type II diabetes mellitus with impotence, early neuropathy, and nephropathy with bilateral cataracts
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0908588
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an eye condition, hearing loss, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes due to a regulatory duty to assist error.
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