Citation Nr: 22005271 Decision Date: 02/01/22 Archive Date: 02/01/22 DOCKET NO. 17-57 938 DATE: February 1, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's left knee degenerative arthritis is etiologically related to active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1965 to December 1966. The Veteran appealed a May 2015 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A Board hearing was held in January 2020. A transcript is of record. In March 2020, May 2021, and October 2021 the Board remanded the Veteran's claim to the AOJ for further action consistent with the Board's remand directives. The claim is back before the Board for further appellate proceedings. The Board finds there has been substantial compliance with its remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). A veteran is entitled to Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran is diagnosed with left knee degenerative arthritis. See January 2021 examination report. The Veteran completed the parachute rigger and basic airborne courses during service. See December 1966 DD Form 214. The Veteran stated that he landed awkwardly during a jump. See January 2020 Board Hearing Tr. at 9. The Veteran stated that his knees were injured after his parachute jumps and continued to be extremely panful. See August 2007 Veteran statement; December 2015 NOD; November 2017 VA Form 9. The January 2021 and July 2021 examination reports noted an onset date during service and noted many jumps during airborne school, and that the Veteran's bilateral knee pain progressively worsened since the time of onset. The Veteran entered service without any left knee issues. See September 1965 STRs. The Veteran's knees would be impacted by the various parachute jumps during service. The Veteran stated and medical evidence notes an onset date of when the Veteran was doing parachute jumps during active service. The Veteran consistently and competently stated that his knee pain was due to his parachute jumps and continued to be painful. The Board finds the Veteran's statements credible. The Veteran is service connected for a right knee condition and the Veteran's parachute jumps are noted in the rationale. See July 2021 rating decision. As the evidence for and the evidence against the Veteran's claim is in relative equipoise, the Board affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, and finds that his left knee condition is related to his parachute jumps during service. Accordingly, the Board grants service connection for left knee degenerative arthritis. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, Associate Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.