The Veteran is currently employed part-time as a car salesman and in the recent past was employed part-time as an auto mechanic, consistently earning employment income that exceeds the applicable maximum annual pension rate. The Board found he is not permanently and totally disabled from nonservice-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current part-time employment as a car salesman demonstrated his ability to retain a substantially gainful occupation despite symptoms of diabetes mellitus, left shoulder arthritis, and tingling and numbness in fingertips.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, left shoulder arthritis, tingling and numbness in fingertips
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19104730
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including right shoulder arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, right hip condition, left hip condition, low back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, as there was no evidence of in-service injury or illness related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
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