The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's back disability was related to active military service. For the left knee, the Board determined that the criteria for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent based on limitation of flexion were not met from March 30, 2017, to October 4, 2024, and from January 5, 2024, to February 5, 2025. However, a 10 percent rating was granted for the same condition from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating was granted from February 5, 2025, to the present.
- Claimed conditions
- back disability, left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2025
- Citation
- 25015187
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,455 · Granted: 23% (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 25015187.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, endometriosis, thyroid condition, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. The claims are now considered on their merits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for additional VA examination. The Veteran's back disability is being reviewed again with new evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for back, hip, and lower extremity disabilities due to a lack of VA examination and outstanding treatment records. The Veteran's current diagnoses and lay statements will be considered in determining if his conditions are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the colon is granted as secondary to his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder to include alcohol use disorder. The back disability claim is remanded for further development.
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