The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis of the hands and knees, finding no current disease or disability related to active military service.
The deciding factor: The Board held that there was insufficient evidence linking the veteran's claimed conditions to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis of the hands, rheumatoid arthritis of the knees
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2002
- Citation
- 0201701
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 0201701.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that there was not substantial compliance with the May 2018 remand directives and has ordered additional development to obtain VA treatment records from Allen Park VAMC, Detroit VAMC, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and any TRICARE records. The Veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis of the knees, ankles, arms, hands, feet, and back is remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, and the Board has granted service connection for various conditions including a left knee disability, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, IBS, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The claims for rheumatoid arthritis of the knees, heart disease, nephropathy (claimed as bilateral kidneys), and neuropathy of upper and lower extremities are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis of the shoulders, knees, elbows, hands, feet, and neck was not incurred or aggravated during his period of active military service. The claim is therefore denied.
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