The Board denied service connection for osteoarthritis of the knees and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine as they were not proximately due to, or the result of, the Veteran's service-connected residuals of a left foot injury.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions are persuasive that the Veteran's knee and back conditions are related to his obesity and general body habitus rather than his service-connected left foot condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Osteoarthritis of the knees, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0910820
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0910820.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his lumbar spine and right hip disabilities due to a duty to assist error. The effective date for DEA benefits is granted as May 1, 2014.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date and higher initial rating for his back disability is denied. The effective date remains March 29, 2021, as the earliest date of claim. An initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the back disability from March 29, 2021, is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability and right leg radiculopathy are granted service connection, but left leg radiculopathy is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for SMC based on the need of regular aid and attendance has been granted. The case is remanded due to errors in obtaining necessary evidence for a TDIU rating.
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