The Board has determined that the veteran's left ankle and back disorders are not causally related to his service-connected knee disability. The evidence does not support a finding of secondary service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions indicate that the veteran's current left ankle and back symptoms are more likely due to the July 1999 fall from a ladder, which caused injuries unrelated to his service-connected knee condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Left ankle disorder, Back disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2005
- Citation
- 0522443
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 0522443.
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 acquired psychiatric disorder, left ankle disorder, and right ankle fracture are all granted service connection. The right ankle fracture is remanded for a higher disability rating.
- Granted
The Veteran's back disorder is granted a rating of 10 percent, and his chronic kidney disease is granted service connection based on being secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for back, left knee, and left ankle disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right knee tendinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a back disorder and a foot disorder due to incomplete or inaccurate factual premises in previous medical opinions. The Veteran's hearing loss claim is denied as his bilateral hearing acuity does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.
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