The Board denied reopening the claim of service connection for a right leg and right sacroiliac joint disorder, but granted it on a de novo basis. The decision found that the preexisting condition was not aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA physician's opinion indicated that the veteran fractured his hip prior to entering service and that the current conditions were due primarily to an accident sustained as a teenager, which occurred before service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right leg, Right sacroiliac joint
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2003
- Citation
- 0306606
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0306606.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding whether his surgeries and post-surgical care resulted in additional disabilities, as well as an evaluation of fault on VA's part.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various lower extremity disabilities, including low back, right leg, left hip, right knee, and left knee disabilities. The issues are related to secondary service connection based on a pre-existing condition that was aggravated by his service-connected left foot and ankle disability.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient discussion of the initial diagnosis of gout in November 2010 and its potential impact on subsequent treatment, which may have caused a delay resulting in amputation.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's right ankle disability is granted a compensable rating of 10%. The claims for service connection for headache, low back, chronic left leg, and chronic right leg disabilities are denied.
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