The Veteran's right and left knee arthritis were not incurred during service, as no etiological relationship was found between the conditions and his active duty.,The Veteran's bilateral pes planus was first diagnosed in service and has been a chronic condition since then. Service connection is granted for this condition.
The deciding factor: The examiner concluded that the osteoarthritis in the Veteran's knees was less likely than not incurred during service or caused by an in-service injury, illness, or event.,Service treatment records showed pes planus first detected during active duty and chronic foot problems since then. The Veteran’s assertions of chronicity were credible.
- Claimed conditions
- cirrhosis, hepatitis C, left foot disorder (pes planus), left knee arthritis, right foot disorder (pes planus), right knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137059
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 19137059.
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 service connection for hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and remanded the claim for a heart disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection for the claimed conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hepatitis C, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
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