The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral hip, knee, and lumbar spine disabilities on a secondary basis to her service-connected PTSD. The disabilities are caused by obesity, which was also caused by her service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's obesity, which is not itself a disability but can be considered an intermediate step in establishing service connection for related conditions, was caused by her service-connected PTSD and substantially contributed to her current bilateral hip, knee, and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- left hip strain, right hip strain, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the left knee, osteoarthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 23, 2023
- Citation
- 23046791
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 23046791.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for lumbosacral strain, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, and left hip strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain have been granted. The claim for left hip strain is remanded due to insufficient evidence on whether it was caused or aggravated by the service-connected lumbosacral strain.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome have been granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected disabilities. The lumbar spine disability has also been granted but the effective date is not specified.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded several claims for further action, including effective date determinations and service connection determinations. The Veteran's service records from Portsmouth Naval Hospital are requested to be obtained.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease, PTSD, and multiple orthopedic conditions, prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.
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