The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's low back disability as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, finding that the Veteran's lower back pain and degenerative joint disease were caused by or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's low back disability was a result of his service-connected left knee disability due to the altered gait and weight shifting he developed as a consequence of his knee condition, which led to his lower back pain and degenerative joint disease.
- Claimed conditions
- low back disability, lower back pain, degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 11, 2023
- Citation
- A23035231
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 A23035231.
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 has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims of right shoulder disability and low back disability due to insufficient evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection of a low back disability was granted with an effective date of January 9, 2018. The Board accepted her November 21, 2019 VA Form 20-0996 as a valid opt-in of the April 2019 SOC into the modernized review system.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a VA examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's lower back pain.
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