The Board has denied service connection for a broken bottom tooth, right side of mouth due to lack of evidence of a current disability. The claims for digestive and respiratory disabilities are remanded as the Veteran's lay statements suggest possible presumptive service connection under the Persian Gulf War presumption. Right shoulder, back, neck, and herniated sphincter of diaphragm disabilities are also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found no current evidence of a broken bottom tooth disability for which compensation is payable. The digestive and respiratory issues may be related to undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses due to service in the Southwest Asia theater, but further examination and opinion are needed to determine if this is the case.
- Claimed conditions
- broken bottom tooth, right side of mouth, digestive disability to include gastrointestinal, respiratory disability to include bronchitis and pneumonia, right shoulder disability, back disability, neck disability, herniated sphincter of diaphragm
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 13, 2021
- Citation
- 21063121
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (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 21063121.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, endometriosis, thyroid condition, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. The claims are now considered on their merits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for additional VA examination. The Veteran's back disability is being reviewed again with new evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including right shoulder disability, abdominal hernia, GERD, bilateral ankle disabilities, and bilateral foot disabilities. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated during the appellant's period of active duty.
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