The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for multiple joint arthritis and Reiter's syndrome, thus allowing these claims to proceed.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was found in the form of VA treatment records from 2000-2001 which included diagnoses of Reiter's syndrome and a December 2002 medical opinion suggesting rheumatoid arthritis as the correct diagnosis for the veteran's multiple joint disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- multiple joint arthritis, Reiter's syndrome
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 7, 2004
- Citation
- 0414574
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,177 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0414574.
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 Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, Reiter's syndrome, and lumbar spine disability have been denied. The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability for VA purposes and that his service-connected disabilities do not warrant an earlier effective date.
- Granted
The Board has granted effective dates of August 2, 2012 for the establishment of service connection for Reiter's syndrome with degenerative arthritis of cervical spine and obstructive sleep apnea.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for Reiter's syndrome and granted service connection for ulcerative colitis as secondary to Reiter's syndrome, effective December 11, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea, specifically whether it is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by his service-connected Reiter's syndrome and foot disabilities.
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