The Veteran's hematuria and nephrolithiasis are due to service, with the Board finding sufficient evidence to grant service connection.,The Veteran's left shoulder dislocation is due to service, as evidenced by a private examination that found it likely began during active duty.,The Veteran's low back disability is also due to service, supported by a private examiner's opinion and consistent with his lay statements.,Regarding vision loss, the Board denied the claim due to lack of evidence meeting the low threshold for VA examination under McLendon v. Nicholson (2006).,For bilateral hearing loss, the Veteran is entitled to a new VA examination as the previous one was inadequate and internally inconsistent.,The claims for left knee osteoarthritis and right knee osteoarthritis are remanded due to insufficient evidence of an in-service injury or disease.,Vision loss claim denied.

The deciding factor: For hematuria, nephrolithiasis, the Board found sufficient evidence linking these conditions to service based on a private examination and the Veteran's lay statements regarding his combat experience.,For left shoulder dislocation, the Board accepted the private examiner's opinion that it likely began during active duty due to an injury in Iraq.,For low back disability, the Board accepted the private examiner's opinion that it likely began during active duty due to a parachute jump injury.,For vision loss, the claim was denied as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or causal relationship to service.,For bilateral hearing loss, the previous VA examination was inadequate and internally inconsistent, thus requiring a new one to determine if the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to service exposure.,For left knee osteoarthritis and right knee osteoarthritis, the claims are remanded as there is insufficient evidence of an in-service injury or disease.,For vision loss, the claim was denied due to lack of a causal relationship between service and the current diagnosis.

Claimed conditions

hematuria, left shoulder dislocation, low back disability

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

February 13, 2026

Citation

A26013728

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 A26013728.