The Veteran's left and right knee chondromalacia patella are currently rated at 10 percent each, but the Board found that they do not meet or approximate criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5257 (recurrent subluxation or lateral instability) due to lack of evidence of moderate or severe instability. The Veteran's range of motion is limited to no less than 110 degrees flexion, and he does not have additional loss of range of motion on repetitive use testing.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no instability in the knees, and the functional loss caused by pain was already contemplated by the current ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee chondromalacia patella, right knee chondromalacia patella
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2015
- Citation
- 1541003
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 1541003.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on statutory housebound status due to her service-connected conditions and additional nonservice-connected disabilities, finding that she did not meet the criteria for SMC.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as her eligibility for VA health care benefits and enrollment in a Priority Group higher than Priority Group 8 has already been granted due to the combined disability rating of 50 percent.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for increased ratings for right knee chondromalacia patella and anterior cruciate ligament strain due to an improper concurrent election of review options.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee chondromalacia patella is rated at 10 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board found that the condition did not warrant a compensable rating under Diagnostic Codes 5260 and 5261, as his range of motion was within normal limits with some pain but no instability.
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