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Whole decision: Denied

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee arthritis, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability related to his right ankle condition. The Board also found that hypertension was not shown to be related to service.,The Board granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, noting that it had been diagnosed and treated since 2002, which predates his separation from service in 1991.

The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a current bilateral knee condition related to the right ankle disability or any other etiology. The Veteran's hypertension was first diagnosed in 2002 and has been treated since then, predating his separation from service.,The Board found that there were no serial blood pressure readings meeting VA criteria for hypertension during service, and thus could not establish a connection to service.

Claimed conditions
bilateral knee arthritis, hypertension
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
August 7, 2019
Citation
19161076

Veterans Law Judge

BETHANY L. BUCK

Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19161076.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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