The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right knee strain, left knee strain, and degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine as secondary to his service-connected bilateral heel spur disabilities.
The deciding factor: A preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's current knee and low back conditions are related to or caused by his service-connected heel spurs.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee strain, left knee strain, degenerative joint disease (DJD) lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 23, 2009
- Citation
- 0906571
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hip and knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim, to ensure adequate VA examinations are conducted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
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