The Board granted an effective date of November 8, 2020, for the award of service connection for various disabilities including cervical spine stenosis, degenerative arthritis, IVDS status post fusion surgery with residuals, right and left shoulder strains and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, right and left knee strains and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, left hip degenerative arthritis, limitation of extension of the right thigh, limitation of abduction of the right thigh, limitation of extension of the left thigh, and limitation of abduction of the left thigh.
The deciding factor: The effective date was granted as it is the earliest possible date for service connection based on the VA Form 20-0966 received by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
- Claimed conditions
- cervical spine stenosis, degenerative arthritis, IVDS status post fusion surgery with residuals, right shoulder strain and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, left shoulder strain and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, right knee strain and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, left knee strain and degenerative arthritis status post joint replacement with residuals, left hip degenerative arthritis, limitation of extension of the right thigh, limitation of abduction of the right thigh, limitation of extension of the left thigh, limitation of abduction of the left thigh
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2025
- Citation
- A25041394
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (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 A25041394.
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 left hip degenerative arthritis is secondary to his service-connected right total hip replacement and grants this claim.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for left hip degenerative arthritis and bilateral restless leg syndrome have been dismissed due to the concurrent submission of a Higher-Level Review request, which is not allowed while a Direct Review appeal is pending.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were denied due to the late filing of the appeal requests, and thus the appeals are dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for left hip degenerative arthritis, a low back condition, and tinnitus due to inadequate medical opinions regarding causation and aggravation.
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