The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 because the evidence did not support a finding that his right knee surgery residuals were caused by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence to support the claim that the Veteran's additional disability was proximately caused by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault during the surgery and follow-up treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee degenerative joint disease, lateral meniscal tear, medial meniscal tear, chondromalacia patellae, pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015891
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 A20015891.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee degenerative joint disease, including secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, is granted. The condition was not related to military service and no aggravation by the service-connected left knee disability could be established.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were withdrawn, and his claims for increased ratings and service connection were dismissed. The Board found no evidence of ankylosis or other disabling conditions that would warrant higher ratings.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left shoulder, left arm, and right knee disabilities have been granted due to new evidence presented. The cases are being remanded for further examination and rating.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee degenerative arthritis, finding that his current condition is due to wear and tear from military service. The decision also grants service connection for any related joint pain.
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