The veteran's service-connected knee disabilities meet the schedular requirements for TDIU, but a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if these conditions render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: VA must obtain a medical opinion to determine whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unemployable due to their impact on his ability to work.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee arthritis with total knee replacement, right knee arthritis with total knee replacement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 22, 2008
- Citation
- 0844143
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 0844143.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding functional loss during flare-ups for the right knee condition. The claim for service connection and TDIU rating is pending.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee arthritis with total knee replacement has been granted service connection as a disability aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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