The Board denied service connection for a left knee condition and a pulmonary condition including COPD, claiming as chronic cough. The Veteran's left knee arthritis was not shown to be chronic in service or within the applicable presumptive period, did not manifest to a compensable degree within a presumptive period, and was not noted in service with attributable continuity of symptomatology.,The Board denied service connection for a pulmonary condition including COPD, claiming as chronic cough. The Veteran's current pulmonary condition was diagnosed many years after service and is less likely related to an in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: Service records show the Veteran reported twisting his knee during boot camp but no left knee disability was noted at separation. Private treatment records showed arthritis diagnosis decades later, outside of presumptive period.,The Veteran's STRs included complaints of coughing in service and a negative chest x-ray. The November 2015 VA examiner opined that the current pulmonary condition is less likely related to an in-service injury or disease.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee arthritis, pulmonary condition including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), rheumatic fever, rhinitis (hay fever)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19116019
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19116019.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of functional impairment. The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine if any service-connected disability results in loss of use of both lower extremities, one lower extremity and one upper extremity, or residuals affecting balance and propulsion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) is denied because he does not have a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and his disabilities do not meet the requirements of SMC under this section.
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