The Board denied service connection for various claimed disabilities, including right and left knee replacements, ankle sprains, neck strain, lumbosacral strain, rotator cuff tear, shoulder dislocation, and sleep apnea, as the evidence did not support a finding of a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no objective clinical evidence to support continuity of symptomatology during or since service for any of the claimed disabilities, and the first evidence of such conditions occurred many years after service. Additionally, the VA examiners opined that the disabilities were less likely than not incurred in or caused by service.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee replacement, right knee ankylosis, left knee instability, left knee ankylosis, right ankle disability (claimed as right ankle sprain), left ankle disability (claimed as left ankle sprain), neck disability (claimed as cervical strain and arthritis), lumbosacral strain, arthritis of the back, right rotator cuff tear, right shoulder dislocation, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25054577
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 various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the Veteran's low back injury occurred during a period of active duty for training (ADT) and continued therefrom.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
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