The Veteran's claim for service connection for his knee, elbow, wrist, and forearm disabilities as well as malaria was denied because he did not have active military service during a period of war.
The deciding factor: The Veteran served from June 1975 to June 1979, which does not meet the threshold eligibility requirements for VA pension benefits due to lack of wartime service.
- Claimed conditions
- malaria, residuals of a right knee injury (also claimed as arthritis), residuals of a left knee injury (also claimed as arthritis), residuals of a right elbow injury (also claimed as arthritis), residuals of a right wrist injury (also claimed as arthritis), residuals of a left forearm injury (also claims as arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2011
- Citation
- 1122766
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 1122766.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient detail in a previous VA medical opinion regarding whether malaria or scarlet fever during service contributed to the Veteran's death. The case must be returned for further evaluation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for malaria was dismissed because the November 17, 2025 request for Board review came before the September 16, 2025 higher-level review of the same issue had been completed.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the Appellant, and no decision can be made on the underlying claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to duty-to-assist errors and additional examinations are required. The AOJ will also request clarification from the Veteran regarding his claim for malaria.
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