The Board granted service connection for a right knee disability, to include as secondary to left total knee arthroplasty, and remanded the claim for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), to include as secondary to major depressive disorder.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's right knee disability is related to his service-connected left knee disability. The private medical opinion provided a well-supported positive nexus opinion, and where the evidence is supportive or in relative equipoise, the Veteran prevails.
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee chondromalacia patella and early degenerative changes (right knee disability), Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- July 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25056703
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The appeal for higher ratings and effective dates for various conditions was denied, with the exception of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy which were granted an earlier effective date.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for various disabilities and granted earlier effective dates for service connection of scars, but denied an earlier effective date for individual unemployability.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss were dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeals at a December 2024 Board hearing. The remaining claims are being remanded for further development.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for failure to timely file a Notice of Disagreement (NOD) with the July 2024 rating decision.
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