The Board has granted service connection for right and left knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus. The claims were reopened due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran, which was found to relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s altered gait due to his service-connected bilateral pes planus caused or contributed to the degeneration in his knees, and this opinion is accorded significant probative weight.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002451
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 granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted increased ratings for the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities, including separate ratings for instability and meniscal conditions, but denied higher ratings for flexion limitations in both knees. The Board also granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to December 1, 2021.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent evaluation for tension headaches effective September 13, 2022, but denied earlier effective dates and service connection for various conditions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia, but denied service connection for right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, intestinal condition (chronic colitis), and chronic migraine disability.
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