The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings for her back, left ankle, right ankle, bilateral metatarsalgia, and right knee disabilities.,Specifically, the Board found that there was no evidence of a back disability during active service or within one year post-service. The left and right ankle disabilities were not shown to be worse than moderate in severity. The Veteran's bilateral metatarsalgia is rated at the maximum allowable under VA regulations. And her right knee disability did not warrant an increased rating.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no evidence of a back disability during active service or within one year post-service, and thus denied service connection for this condition.,For the left and right ankle disabilities, the Board found that their severity did not warrant a higher rating as they were not shown to be worse than moderate in severity. The Veteran's bilateral metatarsalgia was rated at the maximum allowable under VA regulations, so an increased rating was denied.,The right knee disability was also rated at the maximum allowable under VA regulations and thus no increase was granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Back (upper and lower) disability, Left ankle disability, Right ankle disability, Bilateral metatarsalgia, Right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20039399
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 20039399.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for left ankle disability residuals, finding that his current condition is due to an in-service injury and granting the benefit of the doubt.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
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