The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including right arm, cervical, right ankle, left leg, bilateral knee (right and left), right knee, left knee, headaches, and gastrointestinal conditions. The Board found no current disability in any of these areas and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between the Veteran's active duty service and his claimed disabilities.
The deciding factor: The August 2018 VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s May 1975 report of right arm pain during service was an acute event without continuity or residuals, thus failing to meet the requirements for direct service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- right arm, cervical, right ankle, left leg, right knee, left knee, headaches, gastrointestinal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- A20019034
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 A20019034.
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.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was reopened due to new and material evidence, and the Board found that his current headaches are related to service. Service connection is granted.
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