The Board found that the Veteran's current PVD and amputations were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of cold injuries during service and the amputations occurred years after service. The claim for service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the Veteran's current PVD to his inservice exposure to cold weather, nor any postservice complaints or treatment related to cold injuries until many years after service discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral peripheral vascular disease (PVD), residuals of cold injuries of the lower extremities, residuals of bilateral above-the-knee amputations
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 13, 2011
- Citation
- 1118505
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 1118505.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for stroke and remanded the cases of abdominal aortic aneurysm, bilateral PVD, and left eye vision loss due to insufficient evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a new opinion to determine if the Veteran's PVD was caused or aggravated by his service-connected PTSD and hypertension.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for residuals of an appendectomy was reopened and granted service connection. The Board found that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran had an appendectomy during service, thus granting service connection.,Service connection for PVD was denied because the evidence did not show a relationship between the condition and service or secondary to service-connected pes planus. The VA examiner opined that the PVD was related to diabetes rather than service or service-connected conditions.,The Veteran's shoulder condition claim was denied as there is no direct link to service, nor can it be considered secondary to service-connected pes planus. The Board found insufficient evidence of a current disability and lack of nexus opinions from medical professionals.,Service connection for the left leg or knee condition was also denied due to insufficient evidence showing a relationship between the Veteran's in-service activities and his current condition. The VA examiner concluded that there is no direct service connection, nor can it be considered secondary to service-connected pes planus.,The Veteran's claim for shortness of breath was denied as he did not provide sufficient evidence or argument regarding any in-service event, disease, or injury related to the symptom.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to outstanding VA treatment records and further examination of the Veteran's current conditions.
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