The Board granted service connection for multiple osteoarthritis conditions, headaches, an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, and gout based on the evidence showing a relationship to the Veteran's active duty service.
The deciding factor: The evidence was approximately evenly balanced as to whether each of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's active duty service. With reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran, the criteria for service connection are met.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spine osteoarthritis, cervical spine osteoarthritis, right shoulder osteoarthritis, left shoulder osteoarthritis, right elbow osteoarthritis, left elbow osteoarthritis, right wrist osteoarthritis, left wrist osteoarthritis, right hand osteoarthritis, left hand osteoarthritis, right hip disability manifested by pain, left hip disability manifested by pain, right knee osteoarthritis, left knee osteoarthritis, right ankle osteoarthritis, left ankle osteoarthritis, right foot osteoarthritis, left foot osteoarthritis, headaches, acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed as adjustment disorder, panic disorder, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, diabetes mellitus, secondary to now service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, on a causation basis, sleep apnea, secondary to now service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, on a causation basis, gout, secondary to now service-connected diabetes mellitus, on a causation basis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2025
- Citation
- A25026979
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 A25026979.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
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