The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for a lumbar spine condition, left knee condition, left ankle condition, and right ankle condition as they were found to be duplicative appeals. The claim for a neck condition was remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's supplemental claim in April 2020 violated the regulatory prohibition against concurrent election of review options and presented a duplicative appeal that must be dismissed as a matter of law.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease lumbar spine, Left knee condition, Left ankle condition, Right ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24070147
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 Board denied readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, aphthous ulcers, a right elbow condition, an enlarged prostate, a right ankle disorder, and a left ankle disorder as no new and relevant evidence was received.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left ankle condition, sleep apnea, lower back condition, and right hip condition as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus, bilateral hallux valgus, degenerative joint disease of the right knee, and right ankle calcaneal spur.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for other specified depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, alcohol use disorder, left hip condition, left knee condition, left lower extremity radiculopathy, left upper extremity radiculopathy, right hip condition, right knee condition, right lower extremity radiculopathy, right upper extremity radiculopathy, shin splints, left leg, shin splints, right leg, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) for further development.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is granted an evaluation of 70 percent disabling, but no higher. Other claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied or remanded.
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