The Board found that the Veteran's right ankle and left knee disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service, as there was no clear and unmistakable evidence of pre-existing conditions. The right shoulder disability was also denied due to lack of in-service documentation.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided opinions based on the presumption of soundness at entry into service and the absence of documented complaints or treatment for these disabilities during active duty, concluding that any current disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Ankle Disability, Left Knee Disability, Right Shoulder Disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2013
- Citation
- 1331580
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 1331580.
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 Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for service connection for right and left shoulder disabilities are remanded. The claim for sleep disorder (claimed as sleep apnea) remains denied.
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