The Board finds that the Veteran's currently diagnosed right and left knee osteoarthritis, as well as his healed right ankle fracture with residuals of pain and locking, are not caused or aggravated by his service-connected left lower fibular fracture residuals with left ankle traumatic arthritis.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions provided in July 2007 and February 2012 were inadequate due to speculative nature. The August 2014 VA opinion concluded that the Veteran's right knee and right ankle disorders are not caused or aggravated by his service-connected left lower extremity disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Osteoarthritis, Left Knee Medial/Lateral Meniscus Tear, Right Ankle Fracture
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 13, 2016
- Citation
- 1614990
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 1614990.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding that the current conditions are not related to service due to lack of evidence of a chronic condition during service or post-service continuity.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his awards of ratings for right and left knee osteoarthritis based on limitation of extension. The evidence did not show a compensable limitation of extension prior to February 6, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for higher ratings for his right knee disability is remanded due to the need for additional medical evidence and consideration of medication effects.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for right knee instability, limited range of motion (ROM), and scar are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
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