The veteran's arthritis of the elbows was not granted service connection. However, his degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine with sciatica and rheumatic heart disease were granted service connection, along with noncompensable initial ratings for his shoulders.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted based on direct evidence of a disability present during or after service.
- Claimed conditions
- Arthritis of the Elbows, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbar Spine with Sciatica, Rheumatic Heart Disease, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Hip, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Hip
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- August 12, 2002
- Citation
- 0209626
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 0209626.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip, right hip and left knee conditions have been granted.,Service connection has been established for degenerative joint disease of the bilateral hips and patellofemoral degenerative changes of the left knee.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left hip, left shoulder, and cervical spine disabilities are being remanded due to the need for updated VA examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left hip disability were denied as the current range of motion findings do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeals for higher ratings for his right hip replacement and left hip disability have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a rating higher than 50 percent for right hip replacement or for a compensable rating for limitation of extension of the left hip.
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