The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of polycystic kidney disease and granted it, finding that the Veteran's preexisting condition was aggravated by his active military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's preexisting kidney disease was aggravated by his active service due to the stress of military service leading to worsening hypertension and symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- polycystic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064869
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 20064869.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's chronic kidney disease, specifically whether it is related to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II with erectile dysfunction and/or hypertension.
- Granted
The Veteran's nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) was granted an initial rating of 10 percent, effective March 22, 2023. The effective date for service connection is set at the date of receipt of the supplemental claim on March 22, 2023.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for polycystic kidney disease, finding that it did not manifest during active service and is not etiologically related to such service.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as there was no communication prior to January 31, 2011, that could be construed as a formal or informal claim.
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