The Veteran's left knee disability is rated at 20 percent for degenerative joint disease, but separate ratings of 10 percent and 20 percent are granted for recurrent subluxation or lateral instability and locking, respectively.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms include pain, popping, grinding, catching, locking, and crepitus, which have been found to approximate slight recurrent subluxation or lateral instability and dislocated semilunar cartilage with frequent episodes of 'locking,' pain, and effusion, warranting separate ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee degenerative joint disease, left meniscal tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 13, 2018
- Citation
- 1809178
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 1809178.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability, including without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were withdrawn, and his claims for increased ratings and service connection were dismissed. The Board found no evidence of ankylosis or other disabling conditions that would warrant higher ratings.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability was not shown to be related to service or any service-connected conditions, and the Board denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right and left knee degenerative joint disease with painful motion due to a lack of consideration of the ameliorative effects of medication use, specifically Gel-One knee injections and Motrin/ibuprofen.
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