The Veteran's service connection for right shin splints, left shin splints, and right knee arthritis was granted with an effective date of October 17, 2008.
The deciding factor: The September 8, 2003 Congressional inquiry from the Veteran to his Congresswoman constituted a formal request for information about his veteran status and eligibility for VA benefits, which did not meet the criteria for an informal claim as defined by VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- right shin splints, left shin splints, right knee arthritis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074270
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 20074270.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for left and right shin splints, as well as an ulcer condition (duodenal ulcer), finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been received. The AOJ should now consider secondary service connection in addition to the original claims.
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