The Veteran's claim for residuals of an appendectomy was reopened and granted service connection. The Board found that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran had an appendectomy during service, thus granting service connection.,Service connection for PVD was denied because the evidence did not show a relationship between the condition and service or secondary to service-connected pes planus. The VA examiner opined that the PVD was related to diabetes rather than service or service-connected conditions.,The Veteran's shoulder condition claim was denied as there is no direct link to service, nor can it be considered secondary to service-connected pes planus. The Board found insufficient evidence of a current disability and lack of nexus opinions from medical professionals.,Service connection for the left leg or knee condition was also denied due to insufficient evidence showing a relationship between the Veteran's in-service activities and his current condition. The VA examiner concluded that there is no direct service connection, nor can it be considered secondary to service-connected pes planus.,The Veteran's claim for shortness of breath was denied as he did not provide sufficient evidence or argument regarding any in-service event, disease, or injury related to the symptom.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran had insufficient evidence to establish a direct link between his service and the claimed conditions. The VA examiners provided negative nexus opinions for all claims.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of an appendectomy, bilateral peripheral vascular disease (PVD), shoulder condition, left leg or knee condition, shortness of breath
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19143509
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 19143509.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a shoulder condition, bilateral knee condition, and right hip condition. The Veteran's claims were based on current diagnoses of these conditions but the evidence did not support an in-service injury or disease.,The Board also noted that there was no nexus between the current disabilities and service due to lack of in-service complaints or injuries.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on four different conditions have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran during the appeal process.
- Granted
The Veteran's shortness of breath and Hodgkin's lymphoma are granted service connection, but his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acquired psychiatric disorder are denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to missing records and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The claims will be readjudicated after obtaining any necessary records.
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