The Board denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the veteran's right knee chondromalacia, both based on limitation of motion and instability.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the competent evidence was against finding right knee instability or frequent periods of locking with pain and effusion into the joint during the period from August 31, 2004 to March 13, 2007; there is no competent evidence of flexion limited to 15 degrees or less or extension limited to more than 5 degrees. For the period beginning March 14, 2007, the veteran's right knee disability has been manifested by no more than slight instability.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee chondromalacia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2009
- Citation
- 0903287
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeal for higher ratings of his left and right knee conditions, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these issues.
- Dismissed
The proposed reductions of the veteran's right and left knee chondromalacia ratings were dismissed as there was no final rating action taken, and the disabilities remained rated at 40 percent during the applicable period.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for sleep disorder is dismissed, and the Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and lower back strain are denied. The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, finding no persuasive evidence that the criteria for increased evaluations were met prior to the respective claim or examination dates.
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