The Board has determined that the Veteran's chest pain, specifically costochondritis, is related to his active service and grants service connection for this condition.,The Board also found that the Veteran's skin disability, diagnosed as eczema, was incurred during his active military service and grants service connection for this condition.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records show complaints of chest pain and a diagnosis of costochondritis in service. The VA examiner opined that the current persistent and recurrent costochondritis is at least as likely as not due to symptoms experienced during service. For eczema, the Veteran's service treatment records indicate a diagnosis of eczema prior to deployment and intermittent flares post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- Costochondritis, Eczema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2017
- Citation
- 1747028
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 1747028.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The reduction in rating for the Veteran's back condition from 40% to 20%, effective September 1, 2025 is improper and void ab initio. The petition to reverse this reduction is granted. An increased rating for costochondritis is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to July 18, 2012, for a finding of total disability based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU). The Board found that the Veteran was not unemployable within one year prior to his July 18, 2012, claim.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings on multiple service-connected conditions have been denied as the necessary VA examinations were missed without good cause.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings are remanded due to a failure to fully develop the scope of his service-connected disabilities and apply the correct criteria for skin conditions.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.