The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left knee with resulting total knee replacement, finding that it is proximately due to or aggravated by the veteran's service-connected right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found it cannot be determined if the right knee disability caused or aggravated the left without resort to speculation. The private medical opinion stated that the veteran's service-connected right knee disability has caused, or at least aggravated, his left knee arthritis. As there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the veteran's left knee arthritis was caused by his right knee disability, the Board gave the benefit of doubt to the claimant.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative arthritis of the left knee, total knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 25, 2008
- Citation
- 0828762
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 0828762.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his left femur fracture with degenerative arthritis of the left knee was dismissed because there was no appealable decision on this issue in the year preceding the June 2021 Notice of Disagreement.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine and left knee, finding that there is a causal relationship between these conditions and service based on continuity of symptoms since service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected low back disability, along with other disabilities, rendered her unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment as of April 1, 2020. She is granted a TDIU effective from that date.,Effective April 1, 2020, the Veteran also received SMC at the 's' rate due to having one service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling and additional disabilities independently rated at least 60 percent disabling.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for irritable bowel syndrome was granted. The claims for degenerative arthritis of the right and left knees are remanded.
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