The Board granted service connection for right knee strain and left knee strain, finding that the evidence was at least in approximate balance regarding their etiological relation to active-duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion supported the Veteran's contentions of pain in his bilateral knees since service due to injuries onboard a ship, despite negative opinions based on lack of treatment records reflecting chronic diagnoses during service.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee strain, left knee strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25031786
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 granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hip and knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim, to ensure adequate VA examinations are conducted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
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