The Board has determined that there is no relationship between the service-connected right knee disability and the veteran's low back disability, disc disease of the lumbar spine. Therefore, service connection for this condition as secondary to the right knee disability is denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided a 'very strong opinion' that the veteran's lower back condition was unrelated to his service-connected right knee disability and more likely due to obesity and age.
- Claimed conditions
- Low Back Disability, Degenerative Disc Disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2005
- Citation
- 0500676
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 680 · 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 0500676.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to inadequate VA examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain private treatment records from Mays & Schnapp Pain Management and schedule the Veteran for additional medical examinations.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability, including diagnosed degenerative arthritis with DDD other than intervertebral disc syndrome and spinal stenosis status post L3, L4, and L5 laminectomy. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service injury and his ongoing symptoms since then.
- Granted
The Veteran's right shoulder disability, low back condition, bilateral knee disabilities, and left shoulder strain have been granted service connection. The Veteran's low back condition has been increased to a 40 percent evaluation, while the bilateral knee conditions remain at their current 10 percent evaluations.
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