The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left total knee replacements, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct or secondary relationship between his knee conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish a causal link between the Veteran's knee replacements and either his active service or his service-connected pes planus.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Total Knee Replacement, Left Total Knee Replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2009
- Citation
- 0905803
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 Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective February 19, 2015.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to incomplete records from Prattville Primary Medicine Associates. The Veteran's right total knee replacement is rated at 100% since March 12, 2013, and increased to 60% effective June 12, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional VA examinations are needed for the Veteran's left knee conditions and a TDIU claim. The right knee replacement cases have been remanded due to procedural issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected right total knee replacement is rated at 60 percent from June 1, 2009 through June 29, 2013. The case is remanded for further development regarding the increased rating and TDIU issues.
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