The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various musculoskeletal disorders and hypertension, finding that there is no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records were silent regarding complaints or diagnoses related to the claimed conditions. The VA examiners concluded that the current disabilities are more likely due to natural progression of aging rather than service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disorder, left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, left hip disorder, right hip disorder, right knee disorder, left ankle disorder, right ankle disorder, left foot disorder, right foot disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21000133
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 21000133.
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 has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various hip and lower extremity disorders, including as secondary to a lumbar spine disorder. The case is being returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for headaches, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, back disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to a failure to provide notice regarding the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, asthma, melasma and hydradenitis, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression, anxiety, and stress), left shoulder disorder, right shoulder disorder, left knee disorder, a left foot disorder, and IBS have been granted. The remaining issues are remanded.
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