The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain, left knee status-post ACL repair with degenerative arthritis, and right knee patellofemoral chondromalacia and degenerative arthritis. The conditions are found to be directly related to the Veteran's military service.
The deciding factor: The evidence includes lay statements from the Veteran and her commanding sergeant indicating chronic knee and low back pain during service which was not treated due to discouragement, as well as VA examination reports and treatment records showing current diagnoses of lumbar strain, left knee disorder, and right knee disorders. The May 2013 VA examiner's opinion is rebutted by the lay evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar strain, left knee status-post ACL repair with degenerative arthritis, right knee patellofemoral chondromalacia and degenerative arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2023
- Citation
- 23054591
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 23054591.
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's appeals for service connection for right hand arthritis and left hand arthritis have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for a higher rating for lumbar strain, radiculopathy of the left sciatic nerve, and radiculopathy of the right sciatic nerve have been remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for lumbar strain and lumbar intervertebral disc syndrome with left sciatica. The right lower extremity sciatica claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's back disability, diagnosed as lumbar strain, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbar spine, is causally related to service. As such, service connection for this condition is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle sprain, right ankle sprain, anxiety with situational type phobia, left hip strain, left knee strain, right knee strain, and lumbar strain are granted effective March 3, 2022.,An earlier effective date of March 3, 2022, is assigned for the Veteran's service connection claims.
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