The Board has determined that the current 30 percent evaluation adequately reflects the Veteran's left knee disability during the relevant period, and thus denied his claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent since October 1, 2011, for a left total knee arthroplasty.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current level of disability does not warrant a higher evaluation as there is no evidence of ankylosis or other significant impairment that would justify a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee arthritis, left total knee arthroplasty
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- February 17, 2016
- Citation
- 1606066
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 1606066.
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 her appeal regarding the service connection for left and right knee arthritis, thus the appeal is dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and dismissed all other appeals related to various joint conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of functional impairment. The Board has determined that a VA examination is needed to determine if any service-connected disability results in loss of use of both lower extremities, one lower extremity and one upper extremity, or residuals affecting balance and propulsion.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) is denied because he does not have a single service-connected disability rated as 100 percent disabling, and his disabilities do not meet the requirements of SMC under this section.
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