The Veteran's claim for a right knee disability was denied as there is no current evidence of such a condition.,New and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claims for left shoulder, upper back, and right great toe disabilities.,Service connection for an upper back disability was previously denied due to lack of evidence of a chronic disability at the time of the April 2003 rating decision.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current right knee disability. The preponderance of the evidence is against this claim.,New and material evidence has not been received for left shoulder, upper back, or right great toe disabilities as there are no current diagnoses in the record.,Service connection was previously denied due to lack of evidence of a chronic upper back disability at the time of the April 2003 rating decision.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Upper Back Disability, Right Great Toe Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2016
- Citation
- 1601588
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1601588.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Whole decision: 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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