The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability, finding that his right knee osteoarthritis did not cause or aggravate his obesity, and therefore could not be considered an intermediate step in causing his left knee osteoarthritis.
The deciding factor: The June 2022 VA examiner found no medical relationship between the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis and service-connected right knee osteoarthritis, and opined that obesity was caused by eating too much rather than inability to exercise.
- Claimed conditions
- Left knee osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2022
- Citation
- 22057781
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 22057781.
What this means for you
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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 osteoarthritis of the right knee and left knee, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service. The issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded due to potential toxic exposure in service.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee meniscal tear with osteoarthritis rating was restored to 40%, and an effective date of July 26, 2013, for SMC based on need for aid and attendance was granted. The intermediate rate SMC effective date also aligns with this date.
- Denied
The January 17, 2013 rating decision denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The Board found that while the Veteran could not return to his previous employment as a plumber, he was capable of sedentary employment and therefore had not established clear and unmistakable error in denying his TDIU claim.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed because the July 3, 2024, Rating Decision only proposed to combine ratings for bilateral shin splints and bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran did not properly identify issues he was appealing.
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