The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right and left ankle disabilities as secondary to his service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions provided negative nexus opinions on both direct, secondary causation, and secondary aggravation theories of entitlement. The examiner explained that there is no clear evidence to suggest an injury to one joint would have any significant impact on another joint, except in specific cases not applicable here.
- Claimed conditions
- right ankle disability, left ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25007307
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various disabilities to the AOJ for further development and consideration of evidence not previously considered.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection, increased ratings, and earlier effective dates as there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between his current conditions and his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
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