The Board has granted service connection for left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and major depressive disorder (secondary to service-connected disabilities). Service connection was denied for lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner diagnosed the Veteran with arthritis in his left knee, which is related to an injury sustained during service. The Veteran's service treatment records only documented a right knee disability but he reported injuring his left knee in service.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine disability, left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, major depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102322
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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