The Board has remanded the claims for further development and consideration, including a VA compensation examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities. The examiner was instructed to consider both direct service connection and secondary service connection theories.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's bilateral knee arthritis and resultant need for total knee replacements is less likely than not caused by, related to, or worsened beyond natural progression by military service or service-related conditions (referring to the service-connected low back disability).
- Claimed conditions
- Total Right Knee Replacement, Total Left Knee Replacement
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2012
- Citation
- 1223187
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 1223187.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities have been rated and denied for increased ratings, with some conditions receiving specific disability ratings. The Veteran is granted a 60% rating for her total right knee replacement from September 4, 2015 onwards, but the other claims are denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a right knee injury, finding that the Veteran's total right knee replacement is etiologically related to his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee condition and lumbar degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis were evaluated. The Veteran's right knee residuals from total knee replacement are rated at 30 percent, while his lumbar degenerative disc disease is rated at 20 percent. A higher rating for the right knee was denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected right and left knee disabilities have resulted in a loss of use of both legs, warranting higher level SMC.
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