The Board denied the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for renal failure, finding that there was no evidence showing a direct link between his service-connected lumbar spine disability and his current renal failure. The Board also found insufficient evidence to support a secondary service connection based on medication use.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions attributing the Veteran's renal failure to other causes, such as membranous glomerulonephritis from syphilis infection while being treated for hepatitis C and diabetes in 2011. The Board found these opinions more probative than the Veteran's lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- renal failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18105354
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 18105354.
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 decided to remand the case due to inadequate VA examinations and the need for further medical opinions regarding the Veteran's chronic kidney disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death, including Agent Orange exposure and contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune. The appellant is free to highlight post-decisional evidence for the benefit of the examiner.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connected death benefits was improper and grants the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not timely filed within one year of the rating decision, and no good cause for extension was presented.
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