The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the low back and hips are related to service, granting these claims. The separate rating for arthritis as a residual of a right hand crush injury is also granted.
The deciding factor: Degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine was found to be at least as likely as not related to military service.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the low back, degenerative joint disease of the hips
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2004
- Citation
- 0400322
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 180 · Granted: 28% (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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0400322.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and an incomplete evidentiary record.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to outstanding private treatment records and the need for medical opinions regarding his heart disability, peptic ulcer disease, and gastritis.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral knee and hip disorders, as they are claimed to be secondary to a service-connected L1 vertebrae fracture. The Veteran's assertions include both that the conditions are related to the in-service fall and that they are due to normal progression of degenerative joint disease.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, aortic aneurism, PTSD, and other disabilities have been denied as the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service.
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