The Board has determined that arthritis in both the right and left knees originated during active service, granting service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's military duties are consistent with the in-service trauma described, and there is evidence of pre-existing knee surgery and complaints of pain and swelling in service. The Board grants the benefit of doubt to the Veteran and finds that arthritis did not preexist service or worsen as a result of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Arthritis of the Right Knee, Degenerative Arthritis of the Left Knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- December 21, 2017
- Citation
- 1759782
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 1759782.
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 remands the claims for service connection and initial disability ratings for obstructive sleep apnea, degenerative arthritis of the left knee, and degenerative arthritis of the right knee to correct duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's intervertebral disc syndrome, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and bilateral knee degenerative arthritis, as well as left ankle strain.
- Denied
The Board denied the claims for service connection and an initial compensable evaluation, finding that the evidence did not support a diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss disability or sleep apnea related to service. The Veteran's hemorrhoids were found to be noncompensable.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found the records incomplete and remanded for several reasons, including obtaining updated private treatment records from the Veteran's ENT provider and VA treatment records. Additionally, a new examination is required to assess the severity of the Veteran's left knee disability due to inadequate previous examination.
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