The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a current disability for the claimed left hand and right hand disabilities, as well as left and right knee disabilities. The Veteran's STRs do not show any in-service incurrence or aggravation of these conditions. Therefore, service connection cannot be established.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's STRs are silent regarding any complaints or diagnoses related to the claimed disabilities. His lay statements about pre-existing injuries prior to enlistment and during service are deemed unreliable due to inconsistencies with other evidence of record. The Board finds no probative value in his assertions, as they do not align with the medical evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Hand Disability, Right Hand Disability (including aggravation of pre-existing right hand fracture), Left Knee Disability, Right Knee Disability, Neuropathy of the Bilateral Lower Extremities (Secondary to a Knee Disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 4, 2017
- Citation
- 1731461
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 1731461.
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 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 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.
- 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.
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