The veteran's current low back and right knee disorders were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service, and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service.
The deciding factor: The competent medical evidence indicates that the veteran's current low back disorder is unrelated to any injuries sustained during service, as well as the degenerative joint disease in his right knee which developed many years after service and was also unrelated to an injury sustained during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Low back disorder, Right knee disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2008
- Citation
- 0816174
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 Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a right knee disorder, and a lumbar spine disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a low back disorder to correct duty to assist errors, as the previous VA examinations and opinions are inadequate.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, and service connection for right knee and right ankle disorders.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hearing loss, psychiatric disorder, neck disorder, and radiculopathy of both upper and lower extremities to correct duty-to-assist errors.
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