The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his knee disabilities and service connection for a psychiatric disorder. The left and right knee conditions are currently rated at 10 percent each, with no higher rating possible based on current evidence of record. Service connection for a depressive disorder with anxiety was also denied as there is no medical evidence linking the condition to military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the veteran's left and right knee conditions did not warrant ratings higher than 10 percent, due to lack of ankylosis or instability. The psychiatric disorder was not linked to service based on the absence of a diagnosis in service records and no evidence of continuity of symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Patellar tendonitis, Depressive disorder with anxiety
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2002
- Citation
- 0215407
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 0215407.
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.
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- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a left-hand condition is dismissed as the Veteran was granted service connection for mononeuropathy to the left hand fourth finger with parasthesia of skin in an October 2025 rating decision.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for unspecified anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding their etiology.
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