The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied as the evidence did not support higher ratings or additional service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed that the Veteran's conditions, while present, did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes. The Board found no evidence of symptom combinations productive of definite impairment of health or compensable limitation of motion to warrant a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- gout of the feet, left elbow and knees with x-ray evidence of degenerative changes of the knees, right foot frostbite with x-ray evidence of DJD of the MTPJ of the great toe, left foot frostbite with x-ray evidence of DJD of the MTPJ of the great toe, right ear frostbite, left ear frostbite, residuals of right (dominant) elbow fracture with x-ray evidence of olecranon osteophyte, hypertension, residuals of nose fracture, elevated cholesterol
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0908964
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 0908964.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- 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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