The Board granted service connection for a back disability as secondary to the veteran's service-connected left knee disability, based on competent medical evidence indicating that at least a portion of the back disability is due to an altered gait pattern caused by the left knee condition.
The deciding factor: Service connection was warranted because there was competent medical evidence showing that at least a portion of the veteran's back disability was aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability, as per Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995).
- Claimed conditions
- back disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2008
- Citation
- 0812019
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
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