The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lumbar spine DDD with arthritis and spondylolisthesis as secondary to his right total knee replacement, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' opinions were more probative than those from Dr. D.B. and Dr. H., who provided less comprehensive and rationale-based opinions regarding the secondary service connection claim.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), arthritis, spondylolisthesis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- A19002545
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19002545.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis and DDD, as well as right and left lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to the now service-connected lumbar spine condition. The decision is based on a finding of relative equipoise in the evidence regarding whether these conditions are related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to DIC due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion prior to the rating decision on appeal regarding whether the Veteran's arthritis was related to his period of active service, and if so, whether it contributed to his death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a back disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that the evidence supports a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active duty service.
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