The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee disability and an increased rating for his right ankle disability, finding that there was no evidence to support a relationship between these conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no direct link between the Veteran’s current right knee and ankle disabilities and his military service or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee, right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20081974
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip osteoarthritis and right hip osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a variety of other conditions including bilateral ankle, shoulder, foot, mood disorder, tinnitus, hyperlipidemia, and knees.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral foot and ankle conditions to correct a duty to assist error, requiring medical opinions on their relationship to the Veteran's service.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for various conditions, including left eye condition, right eye condition, hypertension, left knee, right knee, obstructive sleep apnea, and coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as denied an earlier effective date for CAD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for a right ankle disability to obtain an addendum opinion.
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