The Board has granted the reopening of claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder and knee disorders, but denied all other service connection claims due to lack of evidence linking current disabilities to service or Gulf War exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's current disabilities are more likely related to normal aging than to service or Gulf War exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, left hip disorder, right hip disorder, left hand disorder, right hand disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19114793
Veterans Law Judge
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 19114793.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various hip and lower extremity disorders, including as secondary to a lumbar spine disorder. The case is being returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to provide notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
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