The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and earlier effective dates for his service-connected right ankle synovitis and myofascial pain syndrome of the upper back. The denial was based on lack of evidence showing an in-service injury or disease that led to these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of an in-service injury or disease leading to the appellant's current right knee condition, and thus denied service connection for this disability. For the earlier effective date claims, the Board noted that there was no claim prior to May 18, 1999, pursuant to which benefits could have been granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Myofascial Pain Syndrome of the Upper Back (previously claimed as a left shoulder condition), Right Knee Condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2003
- Citation
- 0304871
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0304871.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee conditions, finding that the Veteran's current knee conditions are more likely than not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee condition is related to his service-connected left knee, back, and bilateral foot disabilities. The decision grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the most recent rating decision on the merits, issued in October 2024, requires correction due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors. The claim for service connection for a right knee condition is being remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for migraine headaches, right knee condition, and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression) are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and evaluations.
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