The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbosacral spine and left knee disabilities are not service-connected, as there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active duty service.
The deciding factor: VA medical opinions found the Veteran's current spinal and knee disorders less likely than not related to service due to lack of in-service diagnosis or treatment for similar symptoms, and because the onset of his disabilities occurred many years after separation from service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, Osteoarthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2024
- Citation
- 24008617
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 24008617.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded two issues: entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 20 percent prior to March 23, 2009 for degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine and entitlement to an extraschedular disability rating for the same condition. The Veteran is asked to provide lay statements from individuals who have observed his symptoms during flare-ups and without medication. A retrospective medical opinion is needed to assess the severity of his condition prior to March 23, 2009.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the inadequacy of the October 2019 VA examination reports.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the inadequacy of the October 2019 VA examination reports.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2019 VA medical opinions.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder is being remanded based on new military personnel records showing his deployment to Panama and Honduras.,The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate VA examination reports related to ankle disabilities.,The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate VA examination reports related to ankle disabilities.,The Veteran's claim for service connection is being remanded due to inadequate VA examination report.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claims for higher initial ratings for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, osteoarthritis of the right and left knees, and left ankle strain are remanded due to inadequate VA compensation examination reports.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for additional development, including obtaining a new VA examination to address the inadequacies of previous examinations and obtain any relevant private treatment records.
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