The Board has determined that the veteran's DJD of the left knee, right knee, and lumbosacral spine are related to service. However, there is no evidence linking rheumatoid arthritis to service.
The deciding factor: Service records show injuries in service but do not indicate a diagnosis or onset of rheumatoid arthritis within one year post-service discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left knee, DJD of the right knee, DJD of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2006
- Citation
- 0613576
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 0613576.
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 Board granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected DJD of the left knee and left knee lateral instability, from December 15, 2009, to September 5, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board granted restoration of a 40 percent rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability effective October 1, 2022, and denied ratings in excess of 20 percent prior to July 15, 2019, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter. The issues related to right knee instability and other claims were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for DJD and instability of both knees but granted separate 20 percent ratings for dislocated semilunar cartilage in the left and right knees.
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