The Veteran's additional disabilities, including chest wall pain, tremors of the upper extremities, and muscular or neurological damage to the upper extremities, were not caused by VA fault in providing surgical treatment. The events were considered ordinary risks of the surgery.
The deciding factor: The VA expert determined that the patient's chronic chest wall pain was likely due to residual effects from the sternotomy rather than a result of carelessness, negligence, or other fault on the part of VA.
- Claimed conditions
- chest wall pain, tremors of the upper extremities, muscular or neurological damage of the upper extremities
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0923138
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 0923138.
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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for chest wall pain, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the condition and his active military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's lung condition was granted an initial rating of 20 percent prior to October 10, 2016, and a 30 percent rating thereafter.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease and tremors of the upper extremities have been granted. The decision is based on presumptive exposure to herbicides during active duty in Vietnam, with the presumption extended to those who served offshore of Vietnam.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for chest wall pain, finding that there is no current disability related to the condition and thus not meeting the criteria for service connection.
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