The Board denied service connection for back, left ankle, bilateral knee, and right hip disabilities as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by service.,The Veteran's current diagnoses of degenerative arthritis in his knees, ankles, and hips are considered to be due to natural aging and excess weight rather than being proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected feet conditions.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence linking the Veteran’s back disability to service, and the VA examiners found that the current findings of degenerative arthritis in the knees, ankles, and hips are more likely related to natural aging and excess weight rather than being caused by or aggravated by his service-connected feet conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Back disability, Left ankle disability, Left knee disability, Right hip disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20081363
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (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 20081363.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a back disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current condition and active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a back disability due to incomplete service records and failure to consider all available evidence, including in-service treatment records from F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
- Dismissed
Your appeal of the March 28, 2025 rating decision that deferred adjudication of your right hip disability claim has been dismissed.
- 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.
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