The Veteran's appeals for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, degenerative arthritis with muscle and joint pain, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hypertension, and left ear hearing loss have all been dismissed due to concurrent elections of review options.
The deciding factor: The Veteran elected higher-level review before filing the Notice of Disagreement, which constitutes a concurrent election of review options prohibited under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic fatigue syndrome, degenerative arthritis with muscle and joint pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2026
- Citation
- A26015128
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 A26015128.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, IBS with GERD, and OSA were denied. The claim for OSA was granted due to the receipt of new evidence showing a current disability.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, right lower extremity radiculopathy, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and a right knee disorder. The evidence did not meet the criteria for direct service connection as there was no in-service diagnosis or continuity of symptomatology.
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