The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee disorders, diagnosed as osteoarthritis, based on the opinion of a VA medical expert who concluded that the Veteran's current knee conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service as a paratrooper.
The deciding factor: The VA medical expert found that the Veteran's knee osteoarthritis was causally or etiologically related to his military service as a paratrooper, considering the cumulative joint loading and risk factors for osteoarthritis in tactile athletes like paratroopers.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee disorder (osteoarthritis), left knee disorder (osteoarthritis with total knee arthroplasty)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19110278
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (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 19110278.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right leg and right knee disorders due to inadequate VA medical examinations. The case will be returned for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection due to a failure to schedule VA examinations as directed in previous remands. The Veteran is advised that if a VA examination is scheduled, a failure to report may result in denial of his claims.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a soft tissue right leg injury and a right knee disorder, diagnosed as osteoarthritis. The entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder is remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset and etiology of his knee disorders. The Veteran is required to undergo further examinations to determine if his current knee conditions are related to his military service.
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