The Board has determined that the veteran's DDD of the lumbar spine and osteoarthritis of the right knee are at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected left knee disorder. The claim for a right shoulder disorder is denied.
The deciding factor: Falls due to the service-connected left knee disorder aggravated pre-existing conditions in the veteran's lumbar spine and right knee, but did not cause current disabilities of the right shoulder.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) of the Lumbar Spine, Osteoarthritis of the Right Knee
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2005
- Citation
- 0533000
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 0533000.
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 PTSD is rated at 70 percent, hypertension as secondary to PTSD is granted, and the Veteran is granted TDIU based on her service-connected PTSD. Osteoarthritis of the right knee is not related to service, but she is granted SMC due to her service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and associated bilateral lower extremity radiculopathies rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from June 30, 2006, onward. The Board granted a 20% disability rating for the period on appeal (not including any periods of convalescence) due to severe muscle spasm and guarding resulting in abnormal gait or spinal contour.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ's decision denying service connection for OSA, claimed as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorder and DDD of the lumbar spine, is flawed due to a failure to consider whether obesity was an intermediate step in the development of OSA. The case is being remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria for a 70 percent rating, warranting an increased rating.,Service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) and degenerative arthritis is remanded due to insufficient evidence in the record.,The Veteran's current employment status does not affect his entitlement to service connection for DDD and degenerative arthritis.
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