The Board denied service connection for all claimed conditions as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities began during service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.,Specifically, the Veteran's bilateral hip and knee disabilities, hearing loss, respiratory disability, and scars to his forehead and right arm are not considered to be due to service.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a nexus between any of the claimed conditions and service. The Board found that there was insufficient medical evidence to support a finding that these disabilities began during service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.,For example, for hip and knee disabilities, the April 2017 VA examiner opined that the current diagnoses are less likely than not related to in-service complaints. For hearing loss, there was no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria. For respiratory disability, the Veteran's reported symptoms were deemed inconsistent with a diagnosed condition.,For scars, the Veteran indicated they were self-inflicted and not service-related.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Hip Disability, Left Hip Disability, Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Respiratory Disability, Scars to Forehead and Right Arm
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 25, 2018
- Citation
- 18105646
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 18105646.
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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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- 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.
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