The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability, right hip strain, left hip strain, right knee strain, sciatica, bilateral lower extremities, and bladder and bowel incontinence.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's disabilities had onset in service or were caused by her service-connected lumbar spine disability. Reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine with piriformis syndrome, Right hip strain, Left hip strain, Right knee strain, Sciatica, bilateral lower extremities, Bladder and bowel incontinence
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25034056
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, while remanding claims for depression, anxiety, sleep disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, and lumbar spine strain.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for plantar fasciitis on the right and left foot, left and right ankle strain, left and right knee osteoarthritis, and left and right hip strain, all secondary to service-connected back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities with weight gain/obesity as an intermediate step.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, facial numbness (Bell's palsy), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and right knee strain. The claims for a left knee strain, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, cervical neck strain, lumbosacral strain, and bilateral foot disability were remanded.
- Denied
The appeal for an increased rating for left hip, the claims for entitlement to an earlier effective date and an increased rating for right knee strain, and the appeal for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left shoulder strain were dismissed. The claim for a 40 percent rating from June 24, 2021 for degenerative disc disease was granted.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.