The Board has denied the Veteran's service connection claims for a low back disability, bilateral knee disability, peripheral nervous system disorder, immune system disorders, metabolic digestive disorder (claimed as GERD), diabetes mellitus type II, skin cancer, and birth defects and stillborn baby. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is not shown to be causally related to service or herbicide exposure. His bilateral knee disabilities are not shown to have manifested until many years after service, and there is no competent evidence indicating a link between the disabilities and service. The Veteran has not provided any credible evidence of his claimed conditions during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2018
- Citation
- 1808729
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 1808729.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
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