The Veteran's lumbar spine arthritis (psoriatic arthritis) is service connected. However, his bilateral total knee replacement was due to osteoarthritis and not related to psoriatic arthritis or Hepatitis C.
The deciding factor: Osteoarthritis caused the Veteran’s knees to be bone-on-bone, leading to a total knee replacement in 2008, which is unrelated to his service-connected psoriatic arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- psoriatic arthritis, bilateral knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18143810
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 18143810.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 psoriatic arthritis and drug-induced hepatitis liver disease, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post right total hip replacement, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, fever sores, and a compromised immune system, as the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for revision of an April 24, 1996, rating decision that denied service connection for psoriasis on the basis of clear and unmistakable error (CUE).
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation based on housebound status from October 5, 2017.
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