The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to December 7, 2010.
The deciding factor: The evidence consistently shows that the Veteran was gainfully employed until November 2008 and then again from July 2009 to December 7, 2010. The service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation during these periods.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain, third degree burns of the right foot and ankle, acne with folliculitis, hypertension, musculoskeletal chest pain, otitis externa, radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities, pes planus, status post skin graft of the right ankle, right thigh scar, and right ankle and foot scars
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081017
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (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 20081017.
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
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- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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