The Veteran's claims for service connection, increased ratings, and TDIU have been denied. The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for the low back injury or entitlement to increased ratings for his knee disabilities. Additionally, the Board determined that the Veteran is not unemployable due to his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions did not find any direct link between the Veteran's current diagnoses and his in-service injuries or events, nor were there sufficient additional disabilities to meet the TDIU requirements.
- Claimed conditions
- low back injury, left knee severe degenerative joint disease, right knee severe degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- July 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19159522
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 19159522.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw his appeal for service connection claims related to left ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain, left knee strain, bilateral hearing loss, and low back injury.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was denied, and the Board found that no effective date prior to May 30, 2019 is warranted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal of the award of an earlier effective date for tinnitus has been withdrawn.,The Veteran's appeals for increased disability evaluations for his low back injury, right knee injury, left knee injury, left ankle injury, and bilateral hearing loss have all been dismissed as the appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran through his representative.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a groin condition. The remaining issues of service connection for left hip contusion, left foot disability, low back injury, and acquired psychiatric disability are remanded.
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