The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee condition, finding that the Veteran's current condition is more likely due to post-service events and obesity. The claim was not reopened as new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to service, but rather to post-service events and obesity.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19160534
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 19160534.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral shoulder strain, bilateral knee osteoarthritis, and bilateral foot degenerative arthritis and heel spur to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the issue of entitlement to a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) for additional action.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral knee osteoarthritis, finding that the Veteran's condition onset during his active service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee osteoarthritis and right knee osteoarthritis are reopened, but the left knee disorder is denied. The claim of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is remanded due to insufficient evidence.
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