The Veteran's rating for service-connected Lyme disease was reduced from 100% to noncompensable effective March 1, 2016. The reduction was proper as there is no evidence of active or residual Lyme disease at the time of the decision.
The deciding factor: The VA determined that there was no evidence of active or residual Lyme disease at the time of the rating reduction and concluded that the Veteran's condition had improved to a point where it did not meet the criteria for a 100% disability rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Lyme disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19130076
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19130076.
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: Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that they are not related to active duty service or any period of ACDUTRA/INACDUTRA service. The appellant's claims are based on secondary service connection due to a non-service-connected condition (Lyme disease), but the evidence does not support this claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's Lyme disease is granted as service connected, with evidence linking his symptoms to a tick bite during training in 2013.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 60 percent rating for coronary artery disease (CAD), status post myocardial infarction, and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective May 27, 2021.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a compensable rating for service-connected Lyme disease, TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status due to errors in the previous decision.
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