The Board denied service connection for joint pains and bilateral hearing loss, finding no evidence of a qualifying chronic disability or undiagnosed illness that existed for at least 6 months.
The deciding factor: There was no objective evidence to support the claim of a current joint disability, and the medical records did not demonstrate any post-service complaints related to shoulder or hip problems. The Veteran's gout began around March 2008, more than 14 years after separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- Joint pains, Gout in left great toe
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19133558
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 19133558.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for nonservice-connected pension and special monthly pension due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling a VA examination.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's GERD to include gastric ulcer is granted a 20 percent rating, while other claims for service connection and an initial compensable rating for sinusitis are denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's restrictive lung disease is granted as service connected due to exposure to burn pits during his Gulf War service. The issues of joint pains, arthritis, muscle pain, hypertension, and right knee strain are remanded for further review.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for PTSD is granted, and the claim for joint pains is denied.
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