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Denied

The Board denied service connection for elbow surgery due to nerve damage, severe right leg pain causing inability to walk distances, bilateral foot pain and swelling, shoulder disorder, and low back disorder. The claims were remanded for further examination.,Service connection was not granted for any of the claimed conditions.

The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA examiners found no evidence linking the Veteran's current disabilities to his active service or a cold injury during service, and concluded that the disabilities are more likely due to other causes such as diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and degenerative changes in the spine.

Claimed conditions
Bilateral foot pain and swelling, Elbow surgery due to nerve damage, Low back disorder, Severe right leg pain causing inability to walk distances, Shoulder disorder
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
December 13, 2019
Citation
19193878

Veterans Law Judge

JENNIFER HWA

Decisions by this judge: 1,913 · Granted: 30% (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 19193878.

What this means for you

A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.

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