The Veteran's Bell's palsy, left knee degenerative joint disease, and lumbar spine degenerative joint disease have been granted service connection. The Board has also found that the Veteran is entitled to higher disability ratings for his left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
The deciding factor: Bell's palsy was determined to be directly related to an in-service injury, while the left knee and lumbar spine disabilities were found to be due to their respective service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bell's palsy, left knee degenerative joint disease, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2015
- Citation
- 1511666
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 1511666.
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 has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis is aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability, including without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability was rated at 40% prior to September 28, 2018. From that date, the rating was increased to 50%. The earlier effective date for TDIU is denied.
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