The Board has granted the reopening of the claim for service connection for lumbar spine disability. The claims for left ankle, left knee, recurrent chest pain, bilateral shoulder, neck, and bilateral hip disabilities are denied as there is no evidence showing a current disability or that any such disabilities are related to service. Service connection for allergic rhinitis, sinus bradycardia, stomach disability, facial cellulitis, scalp dermatitis, headache, and bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy is also denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found new and material evidence to reopen the claim for lumbar spine disability but denied all other service connection claims due to lack of current disabilities or a causal relationship with service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, left ankle disability, left knee disability, recurrent chest pain, bilateral shoulder disability, neck disability, bilateral hip disability, bilateral eye disability (refractive error), allergic rhinitis, sinus bradycardia, stomach disability, facial cellulitis, scalp dermatitis, headache, bilateral upper extremity radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19136590
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19136590.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim to include any mental health disorder raised by the record and has remanded for additional development regarding service connection for left leg, ankle, and psychiatric disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.