The Board has denied the Veteran's secondary service connection claims for his right and left ankle disorders, low back disorder, right hip disorder, and left hip disorder as they are not caused or aggravated by his service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions provided clear evidence against a finding of secondary service connection for the ankles, concluding that there is no causal link between the Veteran's bilateral knees causing or leading to an ankle injury or strain.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ankle disorder, Left ankle disorder, Low back disorder, Right hip disorder, Left hip disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20076958
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 20076958.
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 Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a low back disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, bilateral knee disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disorder, finding that the evidence did not show an in-service onset or relationship to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right and left hip disorders, as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine strain with bilateral lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further review.
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