The Board found that the Veteran's muscular dystrophy is not service-connected as it was a congenital defect and did not worsen during his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support an aggravation of the congenital muscular dystrophy during service, and the disease would have resulted in its present manifestations regardless of whether he had active service.
- Claimed conditions
- muscular dystrophy
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2016
- Citation
- 1613230
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 1613230.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for muscular dystrophy, glycogen storage myopathy, and minicore myelopathy.,Service connection is also granted for respiratory disability (COPD) due to environmental exposure.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's muscular dystrophy, finding that it pre-existed service but was aggravated by active duty service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate opinions from a private doctor and VA examiner regarding the nature of the Veteran's muscular dystrophy, its relationship to service, and whether it is a congenital defect or disease. The Veteran will need to undergo a new VA examination.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for muscular dystrophy, finding that the Veteran's condition was aggravated by his active service.
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