The Veteran's claims for service connection for various joint and foot disabilities, including a sleep disorder and hypertension, were denied as there is no evidence of such conditions during his military service or within one year after separation. The Board finds that the Veteran did not have these conditions in service and they are not related to his active duty.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's STRs do not show any mention of sleep disorders, hypertension, back injuries, cervical spine disabilities, foot, hip, or leg issues during his military service. There is no evidence of such conditions within one year after separation from service. The VA examiner found that the current diagnoses are less likely due to service.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep disorder, hypertension, back injury, cervical spine disability, left foot disability, right foot disability, left hip disability, right hip disability, left leg disability, right leg disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2017
- Citation
- 1746178
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 1746178.
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 remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
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The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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