The Board has granted service connection for left elbow lateral epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, but denied service connection for degenerative arthritis and DDD other than IVDS of the neck and low back condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided positive nexus opinions based on the Veteran's in-service MOS as a rifleman and his reported repetitive use injuries during service, resolving doubt in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- left elbow lateral epicondylitis, osteoarthritis of the left elbow, degenerative arthritis and degenerative disc disease (DDD) other than intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) of the neck, degenerative arthritis and DDD other than IVDS of the back
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2026
- Citation
- A26025602
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 A26025602.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating have been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his left elbow condition and the severity of his right knee condition, taking into account the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the issues of higher initial ratings for service-connected bilateral knee disability, migraine variants, and bilateral hearing loss as well as service connection for generalized anxiety disorder. The issues of service connection for right elbow lateral epicondylitis and left elbow lateral epicondylitis are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. Service connection for depression is also remanded due to conflicting diagnoses.
- Granted
Service connection is granted for tinnitus, as it was incurred during service due to exposure to loud noise.,Service connection is denied for left knee patella tendon tear (status post repair), as the current condition did not have its onset during a period of honorable service and is not otherwise etiologically related to active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected left knee and bilateral elbow disabilities were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation for any of the conditions.
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