The Veteran's use of her VA-issued right and left knee braces for her service-connected right and left knee osteoarthritis is causing wear or tearing of her clothing, which qualifies her for a clothing allowance in 2016.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was at least in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's use of her orthopedic appliances caused wear and tear on her clothing, thus resolving all reasonable doubts in favor of the claimant.
- Claimed conditions
- right and left knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19118865
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 19118865.
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 the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use due to several lower extremity disabilities, as no effective function remains other than that which would be equally well served by an amputation stump with a prosthesis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to potential eligibility for SMC under certain criteria. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are being evaluated in detail.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee osteoarthritis, a back disability, diabetes mellitus, and erectile dysfunction. The claims were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hypothyroidism has been remanded for a new VA examination to assess the severity of her digestive symptoms. The issue of entitlement to TDIU is also remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the rating for hypothyroidism.
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