The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of Lyme disease, including arthritis, as there is no currently diagnosed residual disability related to a tick bite during active duty.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a current residual disability related to the Veteran's in-service tick bite and subsequent diagnosis of Lyme disease and arthritis. The condition resolved long before the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Lyme disease, Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 24, 2021
- Citation
- 21031724
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 21031724.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in previous examinations, requiring additional information on right shoulder ROM measurements without medication effects.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that they are not related to active duty service or any period of ACDUTRA/INACDUTRA service. The appellant's claims are based on secondary service connection due to a non-service-connected condition (Lyme disease), but the evidence does not support this claim.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's disability ratings for low back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been reduced from 40% and 10%, respectively, to 20% and 0%. The reduction was based on improvements shown in recent VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's right knee strain with arthritis is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum allowable rating under Diagnostic Code 5010 prior to February 7, 2021. The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia and irritable bowel syndrome is not rated higher than 30 percent.
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