The Board granted service connection for umbilical hernia, finding that the Veteran's obesity, which is due to his service-connected back disability, was a substantial factor in causing the claimed secondary disability.
The deciding factor: The March 2025 VA medical opinion supported a nexus between the Veteran's umbilical hernia and his service-connected back disability through an intermediate step of obesity.
- Claimed conditions
- umbilical hernia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 13, 2025
- Citation
- 25006442
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hernia, other than hiatal, specifically ventral, inguinal, and umbilical hernias, finding that the Veteran's obesity, caused by his service-connected disabilities, was a substantial factor in causing these hernias.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for ventral hernia and umbilical hernia based on the evidence showing that the Veteran's current disability is related to his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, vertigo, and various other conditions as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active duty.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for several conditions, including bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, cervical myelopathy with right upper extremity weakness, chronic kidney disease stage III, gout of the right foot, hip joint replacements, and umbilical hernia. The claims for left rotator cuff tear, sleep apnea, and tinnitus were remanded.
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