The Board denied service connection for right ankle/foot disability, lumbar degenerative joint disease, and related issues due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.,Service connection was also denied for left lower extremity neuropathy with obturator nerve involvement as there is no direct evidence or link between the condition and service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is insufficient medical evidence to support a finding that any of the Veteran's claimed conditions were incurred in or aggravated by his military service, including due to exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, Camp Lejeune, radiation, Gulf War Syndrome, or other presumptive conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle/foot disability, Lumbar degenerative joint disease, Right sciatic nerve condition, Left lower extremity neuropathy with obturator nerve involvement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19128221
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (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 19128221.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Knee as secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, but has remanded the claim for Lumbar Spine Disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a right ankle/foot disability, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis of a right ankle strain and calcaneal spur did not meet the criteria for direct service connection due to lack of evidence of arthritis within one year of separation. The VA examiners opined against the claim based on the absence of medical evidence supporting a fracture in service and no further complaints or diagnoses related to the right foot or ankle until 34 years after separation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for right and left ankle/foot disabilities, as well as left and right knee disabilities, all secondary to a service-connected back disability. The VA needs to obtain medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, bilateral cataracts, bilateral pes planus, left ankle condition, lumbar spine intervertebral disc displacement with spondylosis, right sciatic nerve condition, and left sciatic nerve condition.
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