The Board has granted an increased evaluation for osteochondritis dissecans of the left knee, but denied service connection for traumatic arthritis of the left knee. The veteran's left knee disability is currently rated as 20 percent disabling.
The deciding factor: The VA medical examination showed that the veteran's left knee had some restriction of movement and tenderness, warranting a 20% evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5257 for osteochondritis dissecans. The traumatic arthritis was not found to meet the criteria for an increased rating as it did not result in limitation of motion or x-ray findings.
- Claimed conditions
- osteochondritis dissecans of the left knee, traumatic arthritis of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 14, 2004
- Citation
- 0401361
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0401361.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for traumatic arthritis of the left knee and plantar fasciitis of the right foot prior to January 2, 2024, are being remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The claim for TDIU is also being remanded as it was not raised by the Veteran prior to the September 2021 rating decision on appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including postoperative residuals of a left knee injury, traumatic arthritis of the left knee, and degenerative joint disease of the right knee, were found to be contributory causes of his death. As such, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right and left knee disabilities due to new evidence received since the last decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not due to service-connected disabilities, and the VA-prescribed medications did not result in an additional disability or death. The Board found that the medications prescribed for his service-connected conditions were not causally related to his death.
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