The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for left lower extremity conditions, including left Achilles tendon rupture and left ankle pain, as secondary to his service-connected post-traumatic arthritis of the right knee. The spine condition is also claimed as secondary to this disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that it was at least as likely as not that any currently diagnosed left lower extremity and/or back disorders were caused or aggravated by the service-connected right knee disability, but did not find a direct link between the conditions and the veteran's service.
- Claimed conditions
- left Achilles tendon rupture, left ankle pain, left knee pain, left hip pain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 10, 2004
- Citation
- 0406286
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 0406286.
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: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for service connection for various conditions including hypoglycemia, sinusitis, left foot pes planus, right foot pes planus, right foot plantar fasciitis, left ankle pain, left hip osteoarthritis, left knee sprain, bradycardia, dry eye, hernia, hypercholesterolemia, and bilateral hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The claims for service connection for hypertension, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, and left knee pain have been readjudicated. The claim for sleep apnea has also been readjudicated.,Service connection has been granted for a neck condition, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, an acquired psychiatric disorder, bruxism, and vertigo.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for compressed discs of the low back, left hip pain, and right hip pain due to procedural defects in filing a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from engaging in gainful employment as of January 1, 2019. The Board granted a TDIU effective from that date.
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