The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee injury and for a compensable rating for malaria. The Board found that there was no evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to the current diagnoses, and that the Veteran's symptoms were not severe enough to warrant a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's current diagnoses of osteoarthritis in his knees and inactive malaria did not meet the criteria for service connection due to lack of evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions, and because there was no evidence of residuals affecting any system of the body.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee injury, malaria
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125661
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 an increased disability evaluation of 100 percent for service-connected malaria, finding the evidence to be in approximate equipoise as to whether the Veteran's malaria was active during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malaria, including residuals, as there is no current diagnosis of malaria or residuals.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for malaria as there was no evidence of active malaria or any current residuals affecting a bodily system.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malaria as new and relevant evidence was not submitted to support a currently diagnosed disability.
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