The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, tinnitus, hypertension, a dental and oral disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease, headaches, a lumbar spine disorder, a cervical spine disorder, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, right wrist disorder, and left wrist disorder.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to report for VA examinations necessary to properly adjudicate his claims, and there was no evidence of current diagnoses for the claimed conditions during the pendency of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and alcohol abuse, Tinnitus, Hypertension, Dental and oral disorder, Gastroesophageal reflux disease, Headaches, Lumbar spine disorder, Cervical spine disorder, Right ankle disorder, Left ankle disorder, Right wrist disorder, Left wrist disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25032141
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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