The Board has reduced the veteran's rating for undiagnosed illness manifested by joint pain from 40 percent to 20 percent, effective September 1, 2002. The reduction is based on a VA examination that demonstrated no objective clinical evidence of present disability and material improvement in health.
The deciding factor: The proposed reduction was supported by the results of a February 2002 VA examination which showed no objective clinical evidence of present disability and material improvement in health, as evidenced by the absence of incapacitating exacerbations or limitation of motion.
- Claimed conditions
- undiagnosed illness manifested by joint pain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0401788
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (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 0401788.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a qualifying chronic disability, to include an undiagnosed illness manifested by joint pain or fatigue, and thus service connection for these conditions is denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome and an undiagnosed illness manifested by joint pain, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service due to environmental exposures.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left hip disability, fatigue, diarrhea, and joint pain. The decision found no left hip disability during the pendency of the claim, and the criteria for an increased rating were not met for the undiagnosed illnesses.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded to obtain additional medical evidence and to schedule the veteran for examinations.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.