The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of current right or left ankle disability, and the preponderance of the competent medical evidence was against a finding that his bilateral knee disorder and polyarthralgias with autoimmune inflammatory disease and probable early ankylosing spondylitis are causally related to active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no objective evidence of rheumatologic/inflammatory disease, and the veteran's complaints were attributed to normal examination of both ankles and chronic patellofemoral pain syndrome. The VA medical opinion also noted a positive HLA-B27, which indicated that he had ankylosing spondylitis but not due to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Cervical Spine, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbosacral Spine, Degenerative Joint Disease of Both Hips, Polyarthralgias with Lab Evidence of Autoimmune Inflammatory Disease, Probable Early Ankylosing Spondylitis, Greater Trochanteric Bursitis of the Left Hip
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2003
- Citation
- 0333143
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 0333143.
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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The Veteran's GERD was granted a 60 percent disability rating, and the June 15, 2020 VA Form 10182 for service connection claims was accepted as timely due to good cause shown.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was restored to a 20 percent rating effective February 24, 2022. The other issues were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's back disability is rated at 40 percent effective January 30, 2013. The issue of service connection for seizures secondary to the low back disability has been remanded.
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