The Board finds that the Veteran's low back disability is at least as likely as not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability, and grants service connection for this condition on a secondary basis.
The deciding factor: The opinion of the Veteran's treating orthopedist supports a nexus between the Veteran's right knee disability and his current low back disability, outweighing the VA examiner's conclusion that there is no such relationship.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Low Back
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2017
- Citation
- 1722140
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 1722140.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the low back and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), finding that both conditions are related to the Veteran's active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's low back disability is remanded for further medical guidance to determine if it is related to his active service.
- Granted
The Veteran's low back disability is found to be due to an injury sustained during combat service in Vietnam. Service connection for PTSD and bilateral hearing loss are granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical records and conduct further examination. The Veteran's low back condition is being considered for service connection as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus.
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