The veteran's chondromalacia of the left and right knees were granted a 10 percent evaluation, but his claims for service connection for low back disability and bilateral hip disability were denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran's knee disabilities meet the criteria for a 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Codes 5260. However, there is no evidence linking his claimed low back or hip disabilities to his military service or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Chondromalacia of the left knee, Chondromalacia of the right knee, Low back disability (claimed to be due to knee disabilities), Bilateral hip disability (claimed to be due to knee disabilities)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0901991
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (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 0901991.
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.
- 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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