The Board has determined that the veteran's current back disability, including arthritis, did not occur during service and is not related to his service-connected residuals of a fracture of the left tibia and fibula and/or residuals of a left total knee arthroplasty. The claim for direct service connection was denied.
The deciding factor: The examiner concluded that the veteran's back condition was not at least as likely as not related to his active service, and it was not caused or aggravated by the service-connected left knee or ankle disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 15, 2002
- Citation
- 0207829
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 0207829.
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 remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and shortness of breath as untimely. The claim for a back disability was remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
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