The Veteran's petition to reopen the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral knee disability was denied. The claims for increased ratings were also denied, with some issues being remanded.
The deciding factor: The new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim and the existing evidence was cumulative or redundant.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disability, right fourth metacarpal fracture, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), scar of the right hand associated with fracture, residuals of stomach surgery, traumatic brain injury (TBI), migraine headaches, right hand nerve damage, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19100528
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 8, 2023, due to very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
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