The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hand and knee arthritis due to new and material evidence. The Board then found that there is at least a reasonable doubt in favor of service connection, granting these claims.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the additional medical opinions supported by substantial rationale put the issue of service connection into relative equipoise, warranting grant of service connection for bilateral hand and knee arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hand arthritis, bilateral knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2018
- Citation
- 1806201
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 1806201.
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 granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hand arthritis, right and left hand pain, and lumbosacral strain as there was no evidence of current disability or in-service injury, disease, or event.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hand and elbow arthritis due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for thoracolumbar strain but granted a compensable rating for GERD, and denied service connection for left knee strain and bilateral knee arthritis.
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