The Veteran's service-connected disabilities meet the percentage requirements for a TDIU, and the competent opinion evidence on whether his service-connected disabilities prevent him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment is in relative equipoise. Therefore, the claim for a TDIU is granted.
The deciding factor: Competent medical opinions are in relative equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- Total left knee replacement, Arthritis of the right knee, Subluxation of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- October 19, 2012
- Citation
- 1236377
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 1236377.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, total right and left knee replacements, tinnitus, degenerative disc disease with spinal fusion complications, painful middle back scar, and scars of the knees, have prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation. A TDIU is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's total left knee replacement is rated at 60 percent, the maximum schedular rating. SMC at the housebound rate is granted from September 29, 2010 to November 1, 2011.
- Denied
The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for the Veteran's total left knee replacement, finding that it resulted in at most intermediate degrees of residual weakness, pain, or limitation of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and clarification regarding the severity of the Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities, specifically to determine if the Veteran has experienced 'the functional equivalent of range of motion loss contemplated by the next higher rating' at any point during the appeal period.
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