The Board granted service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, to include osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis; a bilateral ankle disorder, to include tendinitis; and a bilateral foot disorder, to include neuralgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PN), as these conditions were found to be caused or worsened by the Veteran's service-connected reactive arthritis.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinions provided high probative value in favor of the claims, while the VA medical opinions did not establish a relationship between the disorders and the service-connected disability. The Board resolved reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral knee disorder, to include osteoarthritis and degenerative arthritis, Bilateral ankle disorder, to include tendinitis, Bilateral foot disorder, to include neuralgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PN)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 10, 2025
- Citation
- 25004866
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.
- Partly granted
The appeal was denied for service connection of a cervical spine disorder, and several claims were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, lumbar spine disorder, left knee disorder, right shoulder disorder, bilateral ankle disorder, and bilateral wrist disorder due to errors in scheduling VA examinations.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for the right wrist scar and denied an increased rating for right wrist median neuritis, service connection for PTSD, and service connection for a bilateral foot disorder.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed all claims for higher initial ratings and service connection, as the Veteran requested a higher-level review of these issues in May 2024 but then appealed to the Board in August 2024, leading to concurrent review which is not allowed.
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