The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and bilateral knee and ankle conditions, finding that the Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder caused or aggravated these conditions through obesity as an intermediate step. The rating assigned is 10 percent.
The deciding factor: The August 2022 examiner opined that the Veteran's obesity was secondary to his service-connected PTSD, which in turn caused or aggravated his hypertension and bilateral knee and ankle conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- obesity, hypertension, right knee arthritis and bursitis, left knee arthritis and bursitis, right ankle sprain, left ankle sprain
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 26, 2023
- Citation
- 23067593
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 23067593.
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 remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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