The Board granted service connection for multiple musculoskeletal disabilities, including cervical spine degenerative disc disease and bilateral joint osteoarthritis, based on in-service exposure to PCBs.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claimed conditions were related to his in-service exposure to PCBs as documented by the yearbook of MCB-1 from 1964 to 1965, which showed his participation in activities involving power transformers containing PCBs.
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), bilateral elbow osteoarthritis, bilateral wrist osteoarthritis, bilateral hand osteoarthritis, bilateral hip osteoarthritis, bilateral knee joint osteoarthritis, bilateral ankle osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the right first metatarsophalangeal joint (right foot disability)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 21, 2025
- Citation
- 25006900
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25006900.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hip osteoarthritis, finding that there was no direct evidence linking his current condition to his military service and concluding that any potential secondary relationship to his service-connected knee disability was not established.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for heart disability, to include hypertension and pacemaker implant, as secondary to now service-connected bilateral hand and bilateral foot osteoarthritis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's neck disability, diagnosed as cervical spine degenerative disc disease (DDD), on a direct basis. The decision is based on credible lay evidence of onset in service and continuity of symptoms.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for initial ratings of her left shoulder strain and cervical spine disability due to new evidence or further clarification from the AOJ.
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