The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral degenerative joint disease of the knees, hips, and lumbosacral spine as secondary to his service-connected painful heels with degenerative changes.
The deciding factor: Service connection was denied because the claimed conditions were not found to be directly related to service or a service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral degenerative joint disease of the knees, bilateral degenerative joint disease of the hips, degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2016
- Citation
- 1646711
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1646711.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted a 40 percent disability rating for the Veteran's low back disorder, effective March 31, 2019.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's TDIU claim for the period prior to March 28, 2014 was denied as his service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU and there is no evidence of unemployability due to these conditions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hip arthroplasty, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, and bilateral knee degenerative joint disease due to new medical opinions being needed.
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