The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the left knee, and osteoarthritis of the right knee. The decision is based on a finding that there is at least an even balance of evidence regarding whether these disabilities are related to service.,There was no presumption or secondary service connection involved in this case.
The deciding factor: The Board found credible the Veteran's statements and lay testimony regarding his in-service injuries, which led to current disability. The opinions from VA examiners were deemed inadequate as they did not consider all relevant evidence including the Veteran's accounts of events during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine (low back disability), Osteoarthritis of the left knee (left knee disability), Osteoarthritis of the right knee (right knee disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19118213
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19118213.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating higher than 70 percent for PTSD and persistent mood disorder, granted a 40 percent initial rating for low back disability, and denied initial ratings higher than 10 percent for plantar fasciitis and radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities involving the sciatic nerve.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a low back disability, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left knee arthritis. The issue of entitlement to service connection for left knee osteochondroma was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his low back disability and right knee disabilities are remanded due to further development being required.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine and bilateral lumbar radiculopathy, finding that these conditions are related to service. Service connection was denied for a bilateral leg condition other than lumbar radiculopathy.
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