The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for residuals of a left tibia fracture was denied, and his claim for service connection for left knee arthritis as secondary to the service-connected left tibia fracture was also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s left knee osteoarthritis is less likely than not caused or aggravated by his service-connected residuals of a left tibia fracture.
- Claimed conditions
- Left tibia fracture, Left knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074561
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for left knee instability, left knee arthritis, right shoulder strain, and residual scars to the right shoulder, index finger, and long finger.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left foot disability (other than callosities) and a right hip disability, as well as increased ratings for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral foot disability prior to July 6, 2020, lumbar spine disability, right knee instability prior to October 2, 2019, and left knee instability. However, it denied increased ratings for the bilateral foot disability since July 26, 2020, right knee arthritis, left knee arthritis, and right knee instability since October 2, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the matters for clarification from the private examiner as to whether a goniometer was used, and will defer further adjudication until such clarification is provided.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's requests for extensions of time to file Board Appeal requests were denied, and the attempted appeals were dismissed.
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