The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that her current knee conditions are aggravated by her service-connected lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s bilateral knee disabilities were due to falls and at least some of these falls were caused by her service-connected back disability. The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's knee disabilities are related to her service-connected spine disability, and thus the claim for secondary service connection was granted.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left knee, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2020
- Citation
- 20077214
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 20077214.
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 claims for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits prior to October 26, 2018, as they are inextricably intertwined with an extraschedular TDIU claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, effective August 30, 2022. The claim for a higher rating remains pending and will be remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for increased disability ratings and service connection is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee meniscus tear with DJD resulted in painful limitation of motion, but did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on flexion or extension limitations.
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