The Veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions have been denied. The hiatus hernia claim was withdrawn, and the below-the-knee amputation claim is denied due to lack of a nexus between the service-connected cold injury residuals and the amputation. Service connection for traumatic arthritis of the cervical and thoracic spine and both shoulders remains pending as the original denial in 1969 did not include these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hiatus hernia claim was withdrawn, and his below-the-knee amputation claim is denied because there is no evidence showing a direct link between the service-connected cold injury residuals and the amputation. The claims for traumatic arthritis of the cervical and thoracic spine and both shoulders remain pending as they were not included in the original 1969 denial.
- Claimed conditions
- Hiatus Hernia, Residuals of Below-the-Knee Amputation, Left Leg (to include as secondary to service-connected residuals, cold injury, left lower extremity), Traumatic Arthritis of the Cervical and Thoracic Spine, Traumatic Arthritis of Both Shoulders
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2009
- Citation
- 0947900
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 0947900.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's service-connected hiatus hernia is currently rated at 60 percent, and the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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