The Board has denied the appellant's claims of service connection for a back disability, left shoulder disability, kidney cancer residuals, and gout due to lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records do not show any chronic back or left shoulder disabilities during active duty. The spine was found normal four years after separation in 1984, and the appellant denied having recurrent back pain at that time.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left shoulder disability, Kidney cancer residuals, Gout
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20068238
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for right lower extremity (RLE) radiculopathy but remanded the back disability claim for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left shoulder disabilities, as the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Granted
The Board granted a 10 percent disability rating for osteoarthritis of the right hand and service connection for a left shoulder disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
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