The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen his claim of service connection for residuals of a low back injury. The decision also noted that there was no evidence showing that the current knee disabilities were related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that while the Veteran's STRs showed complaints of back pain, they did not show any diagnosis or treatment for a low back disability. Additionally, the new evidence received since May 2005 did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim and did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Low Back Injury, Left Knee Arthritis, Right Knee Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0940347
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 0940347.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher rating prior to August 12, 2013 was denied as his right knee disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5003.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating from April 1, 2016 was denied as he is already receiving the maximum allowable disability rating of 60 percent for total right knee replacement.
- Granted
The Veteran's left total knee replacement with left knee arthritis and scar, status post left knee arthroscopy, are granted a disability rating of 60 percent effective February 28, 2025.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability did not begin during service or is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease, and it is not etiologically related to a service-connected condition. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a left knee disability is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The rating for PTSD was not granted, and the claims for left foot neuropathy, right foot neuropathy, left knee arthroplasty and rheumatoid arthritis, and right knee arthritis were also denied.
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