The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, ankle disability, knee disability, groin injury, gout, and psoriatic arthritis of the feet as there was no credible evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease related to these claimed disabilities occurred in service.
The deciding factor: There is no credible evidence establishing that an event, injury, or disease related to the claimed disabilities occurred in service. The Veteran's STRs are silent regarding any complaints or treatment for these conditions during his active duty periods, and there is no medical evidence linking the current conditions to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis, ankle disability, knee disability, groin injury, gout, psoriatic arthritis of the feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2009
- Citation
- 0911245
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 service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on chronic symptoms shown during service and continuity of those symptoms since service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis was dismissed due to a untimely notice of disagreement. The left knee disorder claim is remanded for further action.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD and granted an effective date of May 31, 2004, but no earlier, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
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