The Veteran's Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Heart Condition (Pericarditis) are granted service connection as they were incurred during her active duty.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s SLE had its onset during service, and her heart condition was caused by her SLE.
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Heart Condition (Pericarditis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2020
- Citation
- A20017722
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 A20017722.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's Systemic Lupus Erythematosus was pre-existing and worsened during service, thus meeting the criteria for service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability rating for systemic lupus erythematosus was reduced from 100% to noncompensable effective February 1, 2021. The Board found that the reduction was proper and denied restoration of the 100% rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied an increased rating for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and has found the Veteran's right hand arthritis claim to be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The decision on the right hand arthritis claim will need to be reconsidered after obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus due to a lack of a VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's lupus is related to his active service or his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
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