The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of both lower extremities, finding that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of his service-connected knee disabilities.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a higher rating as the impairment is characterized by moderate recurrent subluxation or lateral instability in each knee, which corresponds to a 10% and 20% rating under Diagnostic Code 5257. The arthritis is also rated separately under Diagnostic Codes 5010 (traumatic arthritis) and 4.71a.
- Claimed conditions
- Internal derangement of the right knee, Traumatic arthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2000
- Citation
- 0009513
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0009513.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted ratings for his left and right knee disabilities, as well as special monthly compensation and TDIU.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not precluded him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, thus denying his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and an increased rating for major depressive disorder were denied. The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for internal derangement of the right knee prior to April 15, 2011 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter was also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's use of his VA-issued left knee brace for his service-connected traumatic arthritis of the left knee is causing wear and tear on his clothing, leading to frequent replacements. The Board has granted a clothing allowance for 2013 based on this issue.
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