The veteran's chronic sinusitis, left ankle sprain with early degenerative joint disease, status post right lateral meniscectomy, and residuals of a fracture of the right fifth metacarpal do not warrant higher ratings.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that the veteran has had any incapacitating episodes due to his sinusitis or more than six non-incapacitating episodes per year. For the left ankle, there is no significant limitation of motion beyond moderate and no ankylosis. The right knee meniscus condition and hand fracture do not meet criteria for higher ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic sinusitis, left ankle sprain with early degenerative joint disease, status post right lateral meniscectomy, residuals of a fracture of the right fifth metacarpal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2009
- Citation
- 0903753
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0903753.
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 has denied service connection for chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome as there is no evidence of a current disability in the record.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for chronic sinusitis and remanded the claim for a lumbar spine disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking readjudication of the previously denied claim for PTSD and multiple other conditions is dismissed due to a procedural defect. The Veteran's authorized representative at the time the appeal was submitted did not have the authority to file the appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their claims for service connection for chronic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
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