The Board denied service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder and Bell's Palsy, finding that the Veteran did not present clear and unmistakable evidence of pre-existing conditions or show an increase in severity during service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support the claim as the symptoms were temporary flare-ups rather than chronic worsening.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal Disorder, Bell's Palsy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19103885
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19103885.
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: Dismissed
The Veteran's claims seeking service connection for fatty liver, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, Bell's Palsy, GERD, neurobehavioral issues, and throat/esophageal cancer have been dismissed due to procedural errors in filing a concurrent election of review options.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for SMC-AA/HB and service connection for urinary frequency secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain with spinal stenosis is being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI residuals and a gastrointestinal disorder were denied. The Board found no evidence of current disabilities or causal relationships to service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted the Veteran's appeal for readjudicating his claim of service connection for hypertension. The claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder, to include gastritis and peptic ulcer are remanded due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
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