The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for DJD of the right knee and DDD of the lumbosacral spine, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable criteria.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the veteran's right knee DJD was productive of pain and limitation of motion but no more than slight subluxation, while his DDD of the lumbosacral spine was productive of forward flexion greater than 30 degrees but no more than 60 degrees; neither condition met the criteria for a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee, degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbosacral spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2009
- Citation
- 0902294
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0902294.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for the lumbar spine disability and granted a 20 percent evaluation for right lower extremity radiculopathy, while denying compensable evaluations for other conditions. The Board also remanded several service connection claims.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include generalized anxiety disorder, and left ear hearing loss. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Whole decision: Granted
Service connection for degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the lumbosacral spine is granted. The Veteran's current DDD is related to an in-service back injury caused by a hard helicopter landing.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete medical opinions and issues related to left knee genu recurvatum. The AOJ is instructed to obtain a medical opinion regarding the right knee meniscal tear and adjudicate the issue of left knee genu recurvatum.
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