The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder and an initial rating higher than 20 percent for right rotator cuff tear with degenerative arthritis. The heart disability appeal was denied as there is no evidence to support its onset during service or any link to service.
The deciding factor: There were no objective indications of qualifying chronic disability due to undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained multisymptom illness, and the Veteran's diagnosed heart conditions could not be presumed to be associated with service in the Persian Gulf. The causal relationship between current disabilities and in-service disease or injury was not established.
- Claimed conditions
- gastrointestinal disorder, heart disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19133000
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for Parkinson's disease/parkinsonism, a gastrointestinal disorder, a speech disorder, and essential tremor due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a heart disability as the evidence did not support that it began during active service or was related to an in-service injury.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for the service-connected heart disability to correct an error by the AOJ in not informing the Veteran of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bronchial asthma, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a heart disability associated with the appellant's service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The remaining claims were remanded to correct pre-decisional errors.
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