The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee pain, ankle disorders, and foot disabilities. The Board also denied his claim for service connection for headaches secondary to hypertension.,The Veteran's TDIU claim was also denied as he did not meet the criteria based on his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that any of the claimed conditions are related to service or a service-connected disability. The Board placed significant weight on the Compensation and Pension Examination opinions, which concluded that there is no causal relationship between the Veteran's current diagnoses and his service.,The Veteran did not meet the criteria for TDIU as he did not have at least one condition rated 40% or higher in combination with additional service-connected disabilities bringing the combined rating to 70% or higher.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral knee pain disabilities, Bilateral ankle disorders, Bilateral foot disorders, Headaches, secondary to hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18156905
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 18156905.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral Achilles tendon disorder, bilateral foot disorders, and bilateral ankle disorders. The claim for depression was withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for low back disorder and bilateral ankle disorders, but denied service connection for right ear hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral foot disorders, including neuropathy and pes planus, should be remanded due to a need for additional medical examination and treatment records.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral pes planus and bilateral ankle disorders, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing conditions were aggravated by active duty service.
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.