The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his knee and thumb disabilities have been denied. The right knee conditions are rated at the maximum available, while the left knee condition is not entitled to a higher rating. For the residuals of the right thumb injury, the claimant was granted an initial 10 percent evaluation prior to May 14, 2016, and a 20 percent evaluation thereafter.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that any of the Veteran's conditions meet or approximate the criteria for a higher rating at any point during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Patellofemoral chondromalacia of right knee, Chondromalacia patella of left knee, Residuals of a right thumb injury (laceration of branches of the digital nerve, radial nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2018
- Citation
- 1804605
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1804605.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his TDIU award, finding that prior to March 31, 2006, his service-connected disabilities did not meet the criteria for a TDIU.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chondromalacia patella of both knees and assigned a noncompensable evaluation (10%) to each knee.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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