The Veteran's appeal for a higher disability rating for his service-connected left knee total replacement with degenerative joint disease was granted, and he is now receiving the maximum available rating of 60 percent. The appeal regarding his fracture of the left tibia prior to June 8, 2010, remains pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's disability has been rated based on its current severity as a result of total knee replacement, which is considered a direct service connection without any presumption or secondary link to another condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Total Replacement with Degenerative Joint Disease, Fracture of the Left Tibia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- July 6, 2017
- Citation
- 1725747
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 1725747.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability, prior to June 8, 2010, is rated at 20 percent due to moderate joint space narrowing and painful limitation of motion. The Board found no evidence of marked impairment or instability warranting a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected left knee disability, including functional impairment due to incoordination, weakened movement, excess fatigability, or pain during flare-ups. The RO will then adjudicate the increased rating claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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