The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral ankle and knee disabilities did not have their onset during active service or within one year thereafter, and are not related to any event in service. The VA examiner opined that these conditions are more likely due to post-service activities such as construction work.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no evidence of lower extremity complaints or abnormal findings at the Veteran's discharge examination, and noted that any ankle or knee disabilities related to service would have expressed themselves sooner than in 2007 when the first post-service treatment was documented.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ankle disability, bilateral knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2013
- Citation
- 1314348
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 1314348.
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 the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability as secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee and low back disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the service connection for migraines, a left shoulder disability, a right elbow disability, a left wrist disability, and a bilateral ankle disability.
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