The Board has granted a 20 percent evaluation for the veteran's service-connected chondromalacia of the left knee, effective April 3, 2003. The earlier effective date claim is also granted.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence shows that the veteran's left knee disability was manifested by episodes of locking and joint effusion beginning in April 2003, warranting a 20 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5258 for dislocated semilunar cartilage with frequent episodes of 'locking,' pain, and effusion into the joint.
- Claimed conditions
- Chondromalacia of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 6, 2006
- Citation
- 0603310
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 499 · Granted: 18% (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 0603310.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 separate 20 percent rating for left knee chondromalacia under Diagnostic Code 5258, effective January 4, 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's chondromalacia of the right knee and chondromalacia of the left knee.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability from April 4, 2009, to July 9, 2015.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, except that it granted a 10 percent rating for instability of the right knee prior to September 28, 2018, and a 20 percent rating from that date. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for instability of the left knee.
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