The appeals for service connection for various conditions, including wrist, leg, shoulder, neck, and arm conditions as well as congestive heart failure have been dismissed. The appeal for residuals of a left kidney contusion has been reopened.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current lumbar spine disability is not related to his in-service injury due to lack of evidence linking the two.
- Claimed conditions
- right wrist condition, left wrist condition, right leg condition, left leg condition, right shoulder condition, left shoulder condition, neck condition, right arm condition, left arm condition, congestive heart failure, left kidney contusion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072816
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, higher ratings, and earlier effective dates, as well as dismissed his claim for a TDIU.
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