The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that the Veteran's obesity, caused by her service-connected hypothyroidism, is an intermediate step between her service-connected condition and her current disability. The Board also found that her bilateral knee disabilities would not have occurred but for her obesity.
The deciding factor: The opinion from A.R. supports a finding that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are secondary to her service-connected hypothyroidism with obesity as an intermediate step between the two, as it is the only probative evidence addressing her claim.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee strain with degenerative joint disease, right knee strain with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2026
- Citation
- A26039053
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 A26039053.
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 Veteran's service-connected disabilities from July 19, 2013 through January 20, 2014 rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and the need to consider additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as there was no evidence to support a higher rating or service connection for any of the conditions appealed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed all claims related to the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including those for increased ratings and earlier effective dates. The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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