The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral disc disease, degenerative joint disease of the left knee and degenerative joint disease of the right ankle as secondary to his service-connected disabilities of the left foot and right knee.
The deciding factor: The August 2005 VA examination report indicated that the veteran's claimed conditions could not be related to his service-connected disabilities without resorting to speculation, and there was no other evidence linking these conditions to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Lumbosacral disc disease, Degenerative joint disease of the left knee, Degenerative joint disease of the right ankle
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0900949
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0900949.
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: Granted
The Veteran's right and left knee braces caused wear and tear to his clothing in the year of 2021, leading to a decision granting annual clothing allowances for both knee braces.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings due to inconsistencies in the January 2022 VA examination reports and a need for clarification regarding the Veteran's intent when filing his Notice of Disagreement. The AOJ is directed to schedule new examinations, obtain retrospective medical opinions, and clarify the severity of the Veteran's disabilities during the relevant period on appeal.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for eligibility for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant was denied as he does not meet the criteria for a qualifying total service-connected disability rating or loss of use of lower extremities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left and right knee, osteoarthritis of the left shoulder, a right shoulder condition, and intervertebral disc disorder of the spine as there is no evidence to support that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.
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