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Whole decision: Denied

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including left and right eye dry eyes, cataracts of the left and right eyes, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, left renal arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, recurrent subluxation of the left knee prior to May 13, 2020, left total knee replacement, disability rating in excess of 60 percent from September 1, 2021, forward for left total knee replacement, DJD of the right knee, right knee instability, burns of the bilateral ankles, linear scar of the left knee, post-surgical tender scars of the left knee, and a total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2019.

The deciding factor: The evidence of record persuasively weighs against finding that the Veteran's claimed conditions are causally related to his active service or any in-service injury, event, or disease.

Claimed conditions
left eye dry eye, right eye dry eye, cataracts of the left eye, cataracts of the right eye, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, left renal arteriovenous malformation, aneurysm, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the lumbar spine, recurrent subluxation of the left knee prior to May 13, 2020, left total knee replacement, previously rated as post-operative left knee with DJD, disability rating in excess of 60 percent from September 1, 2021, forward for left total knee replacement, disability rating in excess of 10 percent for DJD of the right knee, disability rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee instability, compensable disability rating for burns of the bilateral ankles, compensable disability rating for linear scar of the left knee, disability in excess of 10 percent for post-surgical tender scars of the left knee, total disability rating due to unemployability (TDIU) based upon service-connected disabilities prior to June 14, 2019
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
December 17, 2025
Citation
25015039

Veterans Law Judge

D. SMART

Decisions by this judge: 857 · Granted: 35% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 25015039.

What this means for you

A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.

What you can do next

Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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