The Board has granted service connection for osteoarthritis of the knees and thoracolumbar spine, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The Board found credible evidence supporting the Veteran's claims, including medical opinions linking his arthritis to his duties as a paratrooper during service.
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the knees, osteoarthritis of the thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081097
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · 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 20081097.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeal for scoliosis and osteoarthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, resulting in the dismissal of this case.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings due to incomplete records from CJW Medical Center and Johnston-Willis Hospital. The claims are also remanded for issuance of an SOC regarding the effective date for a 10% rating for right foot hallux valgus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee meniscal tear and osteoarthritis of other joints, including neck, shoulders, left hip, hands, and feet, are related to his service-connected conditions. The claims for these conditions have been remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current osteoarthritis of the knees clearly and unmistakably pre-existed service. The examiner is asked to provide a clear opinion on this matter.
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