The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection and TDIU for right and left total knee replacements due to the appellant's death.
The deciding factor: The appellant passed away during the pendency of the appeal, thus the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the case.
- Claimed conditions
- right total knee replacement, left total knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2021
- Citation
- 21002131
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 21002131.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not result in loss of use of the bilateral lower extremities, and therefore he is not entitled to special monthly compensation based on such.
- Granted
The Veteran is unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities, and a TDIU is granted.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions, including prostate cancer, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II, diabetic nephropathy and end stage renal disease with dialysis, diabetic peripheral neuropathies of various extremities, erectile dysfunction, lumbar spine strain with degenerative arthritis and intervertebral disc syndrome, and bilateral knee replacements, do not meet the criteria for service connection based on direct evidence or presumptive exposure to herbicide agents. The Board also found that there was no qualifying exposure to toxic environmental exposures during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for bilateral total knee replacements due to insufficient evidence regarding their onset and relation to active service.
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