The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date and a compensable rating for service-connected umbilical hernia and hypertension was denied. The Board found that the criteria for a 20% rating for umbilical hernia prior to November 16, 2018 did not meet the established criteria under VA regulations. For hypertension, the evidence showed diastolic readings predominantly below 100 and systolic readings predominantly below 160, which precluded a compensable rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected conditions were rated based on their current manifestations rather than when they arose or when entitlement to benefits accrued.
- Claimed conditions
- umbilical hernia, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- A19000992
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000992.
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What you can do next
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