The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed conditions, including arthritis of the bilateral feet, shoulders, hands, and right knee, as well as squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, all due to exposure to ionizing radiation in service. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during service or were related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA found no causal link between the Veteran's current diagnoses and his claimed in-service exposures to ionizing radiation, with some attributing the arthritis to natural aging processes and others noting insufficient evidence of a connection.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of the bilateral feet, arthritis of the left shoulder, arthritis of the right shoulder, right hand arthritis, left hand arthritis, squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20076914
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 20076914.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for right hand arthritis but has remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for nocturia due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his military service and the cancer.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal concerning the issues of entitlement to service connection for left hand arthritis, 3rd digit and right hand arthritis has been dismissed due to their death.
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