The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for valvular heart disease, an eye disability, a back disability, and a right shoulder disability. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to his active service or presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by private physicians were found to be of limited probative value due to speculative nature and based on inaccurate factual premises (Veteran's lay reports).
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, eye disability (nerve palsy residuals of head trauma), back disability, right shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20075028
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and a right hip disability, and granted a 30 percent rating for ureterolithiasis. The claim for an increased rating for PTSD was denied, while other claims were remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a 100 percent rating for valvular heart disease based on MET testing showing that at a workload of 3 METs or less, the condition results in fatigue and breathlessness.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
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