The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation, as his employment is full-time and he has maintained it throughout the period on appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran maintains full-time employment in law enforcement and provides an annual income that exceeds the poverty threshold. His service-connected disabilities have resulted in some occupational impairment but do not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain, migraine headaches, left varicocele with history of vasectomy, depressive disorder, left lower extremity radiculopathy, right lower extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity carpal tunnel syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2016
- Citation
- 1607107
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 1607107.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for additional development due to incomplete medical records and insufficient opinions regarding the relationship between service, including a stick injury in England, and current left eye disability (including amblyopia and cataracts) as well as migraine headaches.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all his appeals, including the one for an increased rating for low back strain.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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