The Board denied service connection for a left knee disability and degenerative joint changes of the lumbar spine, finding that these conditions are not related to service or service-connected disabilities.,A rating higher than 20 percent for residuals of right knee injury with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was also denied.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is no evidence showing the left knee disability and degenerative joint changes of the lumbar spine were incurred or aggravated by service, nor are they proximately due to or the result of service-connected right knee disability or bilateral ankle disability. The examiner also found no causal relationship between the veteran's bilateral ankle disability and low back pain.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Disability, Degenerative Joint Changes of Lumbar Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2008
- Citation
- 0807787
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 0807787.
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: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
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