The veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates have been denied. Service connection for diabetes mellitus was not established, and the right knee and left knee disabilities were rated based on their current manifestations.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the veteran's currently diagnosed diabetes mellitus to his service-connected hypertension. The right knee and left knee disabilities are currently rated as they manifest in terms of pain, arthritis, and limited motion.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type II, Traumatic Arthritis of Right Knee, Traumatic Arthritis of Left Knee, Hypertensive Vascular Disease with Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- May 24, 2001
- Citation
- 0114531
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 0114531.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a psychiatric disability due to insufficient evidence of the severity required for higher ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for his diabetes mellitus, a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, but denied service connection for multiple tooth trauma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
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