The Board has determined that the veteran's post-operative left inguinal hernia and left knee disability are not related to his military service. The rating for left leg thrombophlebitis remains at 10 percent.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a nexus between the claimed conditions and the veteran's active duty service, including any inservice injuries or exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- Left knee disability (including internal derangement and meniscus tear), Post-operative left inguinal hernia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 4, 2006
- Citation
- 0637511
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0637511.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied a higher rating for the Veteran's post-operative left inguinal hernia and abdominal scar, but has remanded the issue of service connection for COPD due to a predecisional duty to assist error. The COPD claim is now pending with instructions on how to obtain a supplemental medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development and lack of a proper rationale for the medical opinion regarding the cause of death. The Veteran's surviving spouse is seeking service connection for the cause of his death, which includes multiple service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for residuals of post-operative left inguinal hernia is denied as there is no evidence of a recurrent hernia or small inguinal hernia, post-operative recurrent. The current rating assigned is based on the painful scar and ilioinguinal neuropathy.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for post-operative left inguinal hernia was denied as the condition had resolved following surgery in 1955 and there have been no hernias since that time.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for additional compensation benefits due to his dependent spouse was also denied, as he did not provide the necessary VA Form 21-686c until April 2006.
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.