The Board has determined that the appellant does not meet the legal definition of a 'veteran' for VA compensation purposes due to lack of active service, and therefore, his claims for service connection are denied.
The deciding factor: The appellant served in the Puerto Rico Army National Guard but did not have any period of active duty. His ACDUTRA does not qualify as 'active service' under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- sinus disability, tumor, spot on skin, bone pain, spinal cord disability, high blood pressure, eye disability, cardiological disability, disability characterized by lack of balance, cervical spine disability, allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18153049
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 18153049.
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 remands the claim for a direct service connection opinion and an adequate secondary service connection aggravation opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's lumbar spine pain, allergic rhinitis, and recurrent yeast infections. The claims for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder with alcohol use disorder and left knee pain were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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