The Veteran's bilateral knee disability is granted as service-connected, and his right ankle disability remains at a 20% rating. The Board found the evidence in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's current knee disabilities are related to active duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided medical opinions supporting the Veteran's claim of in-service injury and resulting chronic bilateral knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disability, bilateral patella tendinopathy, osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074618
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 remands the service connection claim for a bilateral knee disability to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including scheduling an additional VA examination.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, and chronic pain syndrome due to untimely notices of disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post right total hip replacement, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, fever sores, and a compromised immune system, as the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chest pain, a gastrointestinal disability, a neck disability, and a bilateral knee disability. The Veteran was also denied a compensable rating for iliotibial band syndrome of the right hip and for right hip limitation of extension.
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