The Board has dismissed all the Veteran's claims for service connection as they are related to his right knee disability and exposure to herbicides. The appeals have been closed due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative disc disease of the low back, bilateral radiculopathy, lower extremities, peripheral neuropathy, bilateral upper extremities, peripheral neuropathy, bilateral lower extremities, actinic keratosis, hypogonadism
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006847
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for spinal stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a bilateral foot disability to obtain further development, including adequate VA examinations and opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, left shoulder bicipital tendon tear, hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and left carpal tunnel syndrome. The claims for increased ratings for lumbar spondylosis with facet arthropathy and lumbosacral strain, right hip strain with osteoarthritis, other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, left and right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome (to include iliotibial band syndrome), and chronic right wrist sprain were denied. The Board also granted an effective date of July 7, 2023 for the award of increased ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, unspecified anxiety disorder, seborrheic dermatitis, and denied increased ratings for left shoulder disability, myalgia, left-hand disability, right-hand disability, right shoulder disability, kidney stones, plantar fasciitis, lung disability, actinic keratosis, and squamous cell carcinoma. The Board remanded service connection claims for several conditions.
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