The Veteran's discharge from active military service for the period from April 1997 to September 2007 is a bar to the receipt of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, and the appeal was denied. The Board also denied service connection for several conditions including residuals of right hand fracture, left index finger partial amputation, left ear hearing loss, neck condition, right shoulder condition, and back condition.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran's claimed conditions began during his period of honorable active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Residuals of right hand fracture, Residuals of left index finger partial amputation, Left ear hearing loss, Neck condition, Right shoulder condition, Back condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21063015
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 5, 2018, for the award of service connection for PTSD and denied earlier effective dates for erectile dysfunction, left ear hearing loss, migraines, and other conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss were dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals at a December 2024 Board hearing. The remaining claims are being remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's appeals for increased ratings and remanded certain issues, including TDIU and SMC.
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