The Board granted service connection for left and right knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back disabilities.
The deciding factor: The November 2022 VA examiner confirmed diagnoses of left knee degenerative arthritis and 'right knee s/p TKA' but ultimately opined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities were less likely than not due to his service-connected hip and back disabilities. However, a private medical opinion from Dr. P.R. supported the claim by stating that the Veteran's abnormal gait pattern due to pain in his lumbar spine more likely than not contributed to the development of osteoarthritis in both knees.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee disability, right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- March 5, 2025
- Citation
- A25020150
Want to see how appeals like this one tend to go? Appeals like mine
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