The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his knee conditions and service connection for a low back disability as secondary to his service-connected knee disabilities. The decision concluded that there was no evidence of a low back condition related to his service or service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: VA medical records did not show any objective evidence of organic pathology in the lumbar spine or left knee, and the examiner stated he could not find any relationship between the veteran's symptoms and his knees.
- Claimed conditions
- chondromalacia and pathological plica (medial shelf syndrome), left knee, retropatellar pain syndrome, right knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2004
- Citation
- 0402743
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 0402743.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected left knee and right shoulder disabilities, along with compensation benefits awarded under 38 USC § 1151 for a right bicep detachment during shoulder surgery, prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment from December 22, 2011 to December 11, 2016.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for the veteran's left and right knee disabilities but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for various conditions, including left eye condition, right eye condition, hypertension, left knee, right knee, obstructive sleep apnea, and coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as denied an earlier effective date for CAD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right leg disability, kidney cancer, including residuals, and bilateral knee disabilities as the evidence did not support that these conditions began during active service or are related to an in-service injury or disease.
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