The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, finding that there was no medical evidence linking his current knee disabilities to injuries sustained during active service. The Board noted that while the Veteran had in-service knee injuries and surgeries, he did not have any chronic knee conditions upon separation from service, and X-ray evidence of arthritis only appeared years after service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence showed no nexus between the Veteran's current knee disabilities and his in-service injuries or surgeries.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disability, arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20073084
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 appeal to obtain a VA medical opinion that considers the Veteran's contentions of in-service training with heavy gear and equipment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for fibromyalgia was granted with an effective date of August 14, 2023. The appeals for earlier effective dates and higher ratings were denied.
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