The Board denied service connection for bilateral knee and hip disorders as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected multilevel degenerative joint disease of the spine, finding that there was no evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her back disability.
The deciding factor: The VA opinions provided were deemed inadequate due to their failure to address post-service injuries or changes in gait. The Board found the October 2016 VHA opinion more persuasive as it considered multiple factors, including obesity and natural aging process, which did not support a secondary service connection claim.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disorder, bilateral hip disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18113401
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 18113401.
What this means for you
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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 claims for a VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's low back disorder and bilateral hip disorder are related to his service-connected Crohn's disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disorder, gout, multiple painful joints, bilateral ankle disorder, bilateral knee disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hip disorders due to a lack of current diagnoses in the medical records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that a remand is needed to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hip disorder and whether it is related to his service-connected right knee disabilities.
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