The Board has dismissed the appeal of Burkitt’s Lymphoma and granted service connection for right thumb arthritis, fracture of the T12 vertebra, right rib fracture, left wrist fracture, and left humerus fracture as secondary to service-connected right great toe disability. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was in relative equipoise for whether the appellant's additional disabilities were caused by his service-connected right great toe disability, leading to a grant of secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Burkitt’s Lymphoma, right thumb arthritis, fracture of the T12 vertebra, right rib fracture, left wrist fracture, left humerus fracture
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183103
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,810 · Granted: 23% (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 19183103.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was denied, and the Board found that no effective date prior to May 30, 2019 is warranted.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for left wrist disability, finding that it was presumed aggravated by service and there is no clear and unmistakable evidence of its increase in severity due to natural progression.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial disability rating for his left wrist fracture is granted at a 10 percent level, effective from the date of claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for a left wrist disability was based on an inadequate medical opinion. The Veteran's current left wrist condition is related to his documented in-service injury, and a remand is required to obtain an adequate medical opinion.
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