The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various psychiatric and physical disabilities, including right shoulder pain, back pain, neck pain, left knee pain, right knee pain, sleep apnea, hepatitis C, kidney or renal failure, prostate cancer, and unspecified depressive disorder. The reasons provided include lack of in-service evidence linking these conditions to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence of an in-service incident, illness, or injury to which any of the claimed disabilities may be etiologically linked.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Pain, Back Pain, Neck Pain, Left Knee Pain, Right Knee Pain, Sleep Apnea, Hepatitis C, Kidney or Renal Failure, Prostate Cancer, Unspecified Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2018
- Citation
- 18115693
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 18115693.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's PTSD, OCD, GAD, and unspecified depressive disorder are rated at 70 percent disabling. The appeal for increased ratings is denied.
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