The Board granted service connection for right and left knee degenerative osteoarthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding the evidence in equipoise.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided by M.M., NP, was found to be more probative than the VA examiner's negative conclusion due to its detailed rationale and references to medical literature.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee degenerative osteoarthritis, left knee degenerative osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2025
- Citation
- A25087590
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 A25087590.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to an inadequate VA examination, and a new one must be conducted to assess the severity of the Veteran's left knee disability.
- Denied
The Board denied an increased evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected left knee degenerative osteoarthritis, finding that the evidence did not support a higher or separate rating under applicable diagnostic codes.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error, specifically failing to obtain an opinion on whether the service-connected right knee disability aggravated the Veteran's left knee degenerative osteoarthritis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee degenerative osteoarthritis and somatic symptom disorder, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active duty service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
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.