The Board found that the reduction of the Veteran's VA disability compensation benefits due to his status as an incarcerated felon was proper, and denied the appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's incarceration for a felony conviction did not affect his service-connected disabilities, which were rated at 20 percent. The law required reducing his benefit rate to 10 percent during incarceration.
- Claimed conditions
- left leg and knee disability, right leg and knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19140013
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,569 · Granted: 26% (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 19140013.
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 has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left leg and knee disability. The Veteran reported an injury in 1972 during service, which he believes caused his current back and left leg/knee disabilities. A VA examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board finds that the Veteran's current low back disability did not manifest in service and does not have a nexus to his active duty. The left leg and knee disability is also not shown to be related to service or due to any service-connected condition.
- Granted
The Veteran's arthritis of the feet is found to be secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain medical records and for VA examinations.
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