The Board has determined that the Veteran's diagnosed degenerative joint disease of the right and left knees is not related to service or any incident therein, and was not manifested to a compensable degree within one year following service discharge.
The deciding factor: Service treatment records were lost due to a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), and there are no indications in the limited service records obtained that the Veteran's lower extremities were abnormal upon separation from service. The Veteran did not report any knee problems during his initial claim for benefits, which was submitted approximately 26 years after service discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease (right knee), degenerative joint disease (left knee)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2017
- Citation
- 1701989
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 1701989.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims of service connection for right knee and right shoulder disabilities are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The Board requires an addendum VA opinion on the right knee disability, including whether a superimposed injury occurred during service, and a VA examination for the right shoulder disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for recurrent right knee, left knee, and left foot disabilities due to insufficient evidence in the record.
- Denied
The Veteran's bilateral plantar fasciitis was granted a 30% rating effective January 16, 2014. The appeal for higher ratings prior to that date and from May 25, 2019 onwards is denied.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.