The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder secondary to his right thigh fragment wound and for an increased rating for DJD of the right knee with crepitus and limitation of flexion. The RO had previously granted service connection for DJD of the right knee, but did not grant any additional compensation based on the veteran's claimed low back disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence to support a separate claim for service connection for a low back disorder and denied both claims as secondary to his right thigh fragment wound. The RO had already assigned a 10% rating for DJD of the right knee, so any additional compensation would not be granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Right Knee, Low Back Disorder (Secondary to Service-Connected Residuals of Shell Fragment Wound)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- February 9, 2006
- Citation
- 0603918
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 0603918.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee DJD and TKA disabilities have been denied. The initial rating of 10 percent for DJD prior to April 5, 2011, and the subsequent rating of 40 percent from that date until February 1, 2015, are not supported by the evidence. For the period from March 1, 2016, through October 10, 2022, a 30 percent rating is denied, and on or after October 11, 2022, a 60 percent rating is also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of her disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The issues include Type II Diabetes Mellitus, Insomnia, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Left Knee, DJD of the Right Knee, and Hypothyroidism.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for ratings in excess of 30 percent for right knee total arthroplasty, a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for a left ankle disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new examination to address the severity of his right knee disability and its impact on his employment.
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