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Dismissed

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings due to improper concurrent election of multiple review options.

The deciding factor: The Veteran made an improper concurrent election of multiple review options, which is prohibited under the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA).

Claimed conditions
hypogonadism, major depressive disorder (claimed as insomnia), right shoulder strain, unspecified anxiety disorder (claimed as insomnia), low testosterone, allergic rhinitis (previously rated with sinusitis and claimed as rhinorrhea), cervical degenerative disc disease (previously evaluated as cervical spondylosis), hypertension, which is currently 10 percent disabling, intervertebral disc syndrome with transitional lumbosacral vertebrae with mid and lower lumbar spondylosis with lumbosacral strain (claimed as thoracic spine pain, lumbar DDD, strain and formerly evaluated under DC5292 and DC 5242), bilateral eye lattice degeneration of the peripheral retina, left shoulder strain, left upper extremity radiculopathy, ulnar nerve (claimed as cervical radicopathy), osteoarthritis, left hip with trochanteric pain syndrome (limitation of extension) (claimed also as increase for left hip, osteoarthritis and bursitis), osteoarthritis of the left hip with trochanteric pain syndrome (limitation of flexion) (claimed also as increase for left hip, osteoarthritis and bursitis), left hip trochanteric pain syndrome (limitation of rotation) (previously rated as left hip arthritis and claimed also as increase for left hip, osteoarthritis and bursitis), sciatic nerve involvement, right lower extremity, residual, scar, left shoulder open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgery incision, right upper extremity radiculopathy, ulnar nerve (claimed as cervical radicopathy), chronic sinusitis (previously rated with allergic rhinitis and claimed as rhinorrhea), tinea pedis
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 18, 2025
Citation
A25035937

Veterans Law Judge

Timothy Cothrel

Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (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 A25035937.

What this means for you

A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.

What you can do next

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