The Veteran's appeals for service connection for high blood pressure, acid reflux, and entitlement to a TDIU prior to May 23, 2018 have been dismissed. The appeal of the effective date for the grant of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeals for high blood pressure, acid reflux, and TDIU prior to May 23, 2018 during a virtual hearing. The appeal for an earlier effective date for the service connection of degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine is remanded due to the need to adjudicate a claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in previous rating decisions.
- Claimed conditions
- high blood pressure, acid reflux, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081236
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for arthritis of all joints from head to toe, sleep apnea, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, a right knee disability, and a left knee disability as there was no evidence of current diagnoses or etiological relationships to the Veteran's service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of service connection for hypothyroidism, diabetes type II, high blood pressure, insomnia disorder, and sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error and because these conditions may be secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected condition of hypothyroidism.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal was remanded for the AOJ to provide the Veteran with notice concerning his right to a hearing under 38 C.F.R. § 3.103(b)(1) and (d)(1).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disability and his active military service.
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