The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a facial injury to include a dental injury with fractured and chipped teeth, jaw disability, other residuals of a left eye injury, and residuals of a head injury. The evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by military service.
The deciding factor: The newly obtained service treatment records showed the Veteran was hospitalized following a fight where he sustained facial injuries, but no dental trauma leading to loss of teeth with bone loss through trauma or disease such as osteomyelitis. The post-service medical evidence did not show any superimposed disease or injury that caused additional myopia/refractive error in the left eye.
- Claimed conditions
- facial injury, dental injury with fractured and chipped teeth, jaw disability, left eye injury, head injury
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19180709
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 19180709.
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: Granted
The Veteran's jaw disability, manifested by pain, is granted as service connection due to its onset during active duty and the resulting functional impairment.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error in obtaining missing service treatment records. The AOJ is instructed to attempt to obtain these records and conduct any necessary development, including VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for a jaw disability and granted an increased rating of 70 percent for PTSD, but found the evidence did not support either claim.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection for left foot bunionectomy, diabetes mellitus type II (DMII), and a left eye injury. The claims are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations.
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