The Veteran's left eye disability and dysphagia are not deemed to be service-connected due to lack of causation or proximate cause, as the Board found no evidence that VA care caused these conditions.
The deciding factor: The July 2020 VA examiner determined that the additional disabilities were not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault. The Veteran's dysphagia was attributed to hardware placed during a cervical spine surgery at Lancaster General Hospital, which is not considered VA care.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye disability, dysphagia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2021
- Citation
- 21003074
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 21003074.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to missing records and a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The claims will be readjudicated after obtaining any necessary records.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hiatal hernia with gastritis and dysphagia, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and a duty to assist error. The Veteran's gastrointestinal disorder claim will be reconsidered with the inclusion of all relevant private medical records.
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