The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable, as he has a high school education and worked in construction before entering service. The combined disability rating is less than the required 70% for a TDIU.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the medical extent of the veteran's service-connected left knee and lumbar spine disorders do not render him totally disabled, making employment feasible.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of left knee injury, status post surgeries, dorsal myositis, lumbar paravertebral fibromyositis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- January 28, 2003
- Citation
- 0301619
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 362 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0301619.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for left lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy from April 13, 2022, and a 30 percent rating for right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy. It also granted an effective date of April 13, 2022, for the award of Dependents' Educational Assistance.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim of service connection for a stomach disability has been reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The Board grants this issue.,The Veteran's claims regarding sleep apnea, right knee disabilities, left knee disabilities, right foot hallux valgus, left foot hallux valgus, lumbar paravertebral fibromyositis, and anxiety disorder are all remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar spine disability, finding that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability was rated at 20 percent prior to February 18, 2011 and increased to 40 percent on and after that date. His left hip disability remained at a 30 percent evaluation from April 1, 2001, until his TDIU award in May 2012.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.