The Board finds that the veteran's arthritis is related to his active service, and grants service connection for arthritis of multiple joints.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence supports a link between the veteran's current arthritis conditions and his military service, including diving activities.
- Claimed conditions
- arthritis of cervical spine, arthritis of thoracic spine, arthritis of lumbar spine, arthritis of right shoulder, arthritis of elbows, arthritis of knees, arthritis of hips
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2003
- Citation
- 0332922
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 0332922.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including arthritis of the right shoulder, back disability, left leg amputation, type II diabetes mellitus, and rotary nystagmus. The Veteran's claims were not supported by credible evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a respiratory disability, hypertension, and TDIU due to potential exposure to herbicide agents and lead paint during service. Additional development is needed to verify these exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating determinations due to insufficient evidence or need for further examination. The issues include bulging discs, sleep apnea, arthritis of hands and knees, hypertension, and diabetic neuropathy.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected amputation of the distal phalanx of the fifth digit and crush injury of the fourth digit of the left hand is found to be aggravated by his arthritis in the left hand, which is granted as secondary to this service-connected condition.
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