The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left knee, finding that it was not incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service and is not related to any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The April 2005 VA examination report concluded that the current osteoarthritis of the left knee is more likely due to a torn medial meniscus and its subsequent removal, rather than being related to in-service strains. The Board found this conclusion to be supported by the evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2008
- Citation
- 0816942
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.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's knee and cervical spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right and left knees, but remanded the issue of a low back disability for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and clarification regarding the severity of the Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities, specifically to determine if the Veteran has experienced 'the functional equivalent of range of motion loss contemplated by the next higher rating' at any point during the appeal period.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left and right knees was dismissed as it was not timely filed.
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