The Board denied service connection for Personality Disorder, Left Leg Disability (including residuals of a horseback injury), Back Disability, Skin or Groin Disability, and Residuals of Head Injury as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
The deciding factor: The Board found no current diagnoses for residuals of a horseback injury or residuals of a head injury, and concluded that the Veteran's assertions were unreliable. The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that the left knee osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, or gluteal abscess/cellulitis began during service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Personality Disorder, Left Knee Osteoarthritis, Degenerative Arthritis of the Lumbar Spine, Gluteal Abscess/Cellulitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19104979
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 19104979.
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 denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his awards of ratings for right and left knee osteoarthritis based on limitation of extension. The evidence did not show a compensable limitation of extension prior to February 6, 2025.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding that the current conditions are not related to service due to lack of evidence of a chronic condition during service or post-service continuity.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, left knee osteoarthritis, and tinnitus, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted a TDIU effective February 23, 2024.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and increased rating for other specified trauma-related disorder was denied. The Board found that the May 1974 denial of service connection for a personality disorder did not address a reasonable raised claim for depression, which is related to the same period.
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.