The Board denied the Veteran's claim for reopening his service connection for congestive heart failure with valve problem as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II due to lack of a competent medical nexus linking the condition to service or service-connected diabetes.
The deciding factor: The new evidence did not provide a competent medical opinion linking the Veteran's congestive heart failure to service or service-connected diabetes.
- Claimed conditions
- Congestive Heart Failure with Valve Problem, Diabetes Mellitus, Type II
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2010
- Citation
- 1016278
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 1016278.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a psychiatric disability due to insufficient evidence of the severity required for higher ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for his diabetes mellitus, a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, but denied service connection for multiple tooth trauma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
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