The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee strain with arthritis and right knee strain with arthritis as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding that there was no medical nexus linking these disabilities to his service-connected pes planus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found insufficient clinical evidence to suggest that the Veteran's bilateral knee strains were related to his service-connected pes planus and instead attributed them to obesity and natural aging.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee strain with arthritis, right knee strain with arthritis
- 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
- A26039074
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 A26039074.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating higher than 50 percent for PTSD, granted a 20 percent rating for bilateral dry eye syndrome, and denied ratings higher than 10 percent for left knee strain with arthritis and a compensable initial rating for right ear hearing loss. The Board also denied service connection for left ear hearing loss, tinnitus, left hip arthralgia, right hip arthralgia, right foot pes planus and plantar fasciitis, status post subtalar joint arthrodesis (right foot condition), and candida infections but granted service connection for left leg lower extremity radiculopathy and right leg lower extremity radiculopathy secondary to lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable rating for the right knee based on limitation of flexion but granted a separate 20 percent rating for semilunar cartilage.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder was dismissed as the issue is moot due to a full grant of benefits. The claims for increased ratings and service connection for other conditions were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and cervical strain, denied earlier effective dates for left knee strain, right knee strain with arthritis, and hepatitis B, and denied a higher rating for hepatitis B. The appeal of duty-to-assist errors was dismissed.
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