The veteran's right knee disability, including partial medial and lateral meniscectomy and ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, is currently rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5257. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating.,The veteran's left knee disability, including partial medial and lateral meniscectomies and repair of the anterior cruciate ligament, is also rated at 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 5257. The Board concludes that there is no basis for an increased evaluation.,Regarding arthritis of the left knee with degenerative changes, the evidence does not meet the criteria for a separate compensable evaluation.
The deciding factor: The veteran's right knee disability has been rated based on instability and pain. The Board finds that the current range of motion (extension to 125 degrees flexion) and subjective complaints do not warrant an increased rating under Diagnostic Code 5257.,For his left knee disability, the Board notes that the veteran's range of motion is also within normal limits, with no instability noted. The arthritis does not meet the criteria for a separate compensable evaluation as it is part of the overall right and left knee disabilities.,The evidence shows noncompensable limitation of motion due to arthritis in the left knee. There are no additional factors that would warrant an increased rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability, Arthritis of the Left Knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0419274
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 999 · Granted: 31% (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 0419274.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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