The Veteran's claim for service connection for acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis is denied as it does not meet the criteria for a compensable disability.,Service connection for lumbar sprain, bilateral knee disability, and obstructive sleep apnea is denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.,The Veteran's claim for morbid obesity is denied as it is not considered a compensable disability by VA regulations.,Service connection for atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the relationship between current diagnoses and service.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of any in-service injury, event or disease that could have caused the Veteran's current conditions. The service treatment records do not show complaints or treatment related to these conditions.,The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran’s current disabilities are related to his military service. There is no indication of any in-service injury, event, or disease that could have caused these conditions.,Morbid obesity is not considered a compensable disability for VA purposes and therefore cannot be granted as service-connected.,The relationship between the Veteran's current diagnoses (atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure) and his service needs to be further evaluated through medical examination.
- Claimed conditions
- acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, lumbar sprain, bilateral knee disability, obstructive sleep apnea, morbid obesity, atriial fibrillation, congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19114946
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 19114946.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- 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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