The Board denied service connection for hypertension, bilateral hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder disabilities. The Veteran's hypertension was found to have manifested within one year of active service. No current diagnoses were found for the claimed upper extremity conditions related to service or secondary to a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records showed blood pressure readings that indicated hypertension during service, but no definitive diagnosis prior to discharge. The Veteran's hypertension was presumed due to in-service exposure as it manifested within one year of active duty. No current diagnoses were found for the claimed upper extremity conditions related to service or secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Bilateral Hand Disabilities (Right and Left), Bilateral Wrist Disabilities (Right and Left), Bilateral Elbow Disabilities (Right and Left), Bilateral Shoulder Disabilities (Right and Left)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 30, 2017
- Citation
- 1710133
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 1710133.
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.
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The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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