The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee and ankle conditions, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to her in-service injuries.
The deciding factor: Service records show the Veteran had complaints and treatment for knee and ankle issues during active duty, which she testified were due to falls and other injuries while on board a ship. The Board found these sufficient to establish service connection without needing to rely on any presumption or secondary theory of connection.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee condition, bilateral ankle condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2026
- Citation
- A26026643
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 A26026643.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a shoulder condition, bilateral knee condition, and right hip condition. The Veteran's claims were based on current diagnoses of these conditions but the evidence did not support an in-service injury or disease.,The Board also noted that there was no nexus between the current disabilities and service due to lack of in-service complaints or injuries.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of evidence, specifically failing to provide a VA examination or medical opinion regarding his claimed bilateral ankle, knee, low back, and left shoulder conditions. The claims are being returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee conditions and obstructive sleep apnea are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The Board is unable to make findings on the merits of these claims at this time.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a bilateral knee condition due to inadequate medical opinion in the June 2024 VA examination.
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