The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to his military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing that the Veteran has any current disabilities related to his military service, including right and left elbow disabilities, left ankle disability, instability of the right knee, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, degenerative joint disease of the left knee, anterior cruciate ligament laxity, or meniscal tear.
- Claimed conditions
- Instability of Right Knee, Left Ankle Disability, Left Elbow Disability, Left Knee Anterior Cruciate Ligament Laxity, Left Knee Degenerative Joint Disease, Left Knee Meniscal Tear, Right Elbow Disability, Right Knee Patellofemoral Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19163183
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (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 19163183.
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 granted service connection for right and left ankle disabilities, as well as denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims for other conditions are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and right shoulder disabilities due to inadequate VA examination opinions. The claims will be reviewed again with new medical opinions.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee disability is rated at 40 percent for limitation of extension, effective December 18, 2025. The Veteran also received separate ratings for instability and dislocation of semilunar cartilage.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and has remanded his claims for initial rating determinations due to the need for additional medical opinions.
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