The Veteran's left knee condition is not service-connected as it did not manifest during service or within a presumptive period, and continuity of symptomatology was not established.,The Veteran's mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is service-connected as it is proximately due to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. Other vision conditions (ptosis and cataracts) are not service-connected.
The deciding factor: The left knee condition was not shown as chronic in service, did not manifest within a presumptive period, and continuity of symptomatology was not established.,The mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy is proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee osteoarthritis, mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080365
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (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 20080365.
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.
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The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, but has remanded the cases of left knee and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims of service connection for left and right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between his service-connected right ankle degenerative arthritis and his current knee conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran was eligible for beneficiary travel benefits to attend a VA medical appointment on March 16, 2021 due to his service-connected conditions. The Board found that the nearest available clinic provided the required care and that the Veteran's statements were credible and consistent with the evidence.
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