The Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder and right leg disorder have been reopened. The appeal is denied as the evidence does not support finding that his current right leg disorder was caused or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found no medical studies supporting the principle that favoring one joint would result in injury or aggravation to an opposing joint, and concluded that the Veteran's right leg disorder is not related to his service-connected left knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Disorder, Right Leg Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104342
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19104342.
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 Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining medical records and for an additional medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's back disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection, but his right ear hearing loss and back disorder claims are remanded for further evaluation.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for a back disorder as new and relevant evidence was not received, despite previous denials.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in obtaining service records and providing an adequate examination. The Veteran's back disorder claim will be reconsidered with these issues addressed.
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