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 earlier than April 2, 2014 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 effective date for the grant of service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was assigned on April 2, 2014.
- Claimed conditions
- high blood pressure, acid reflux, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081236
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes mellitus due to errors in development of the claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
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