The Board granted service connection for the veteran's lumbar spine disability, right knee strain, left knee degenerative arthritis, and right ankle strain on a direct basis. The Board also granted service connection for bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least evenly balanced as to whether each of these disabilities had onset in service or were caused by the Veteran's now service-connected lumbar spine disability, and reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, secondary to lumbar spine disability, right knee strain, left knee degenerative arthritis, right ankle strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25046805
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 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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for right knee strain and instability but granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension from November 25, 2024.
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