The Veteran's right and left knee DJD have been rated at the minimum of 30 percent, but the Board found no evidence to support higher ratings based on additional functional loss or instability.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not show any instability or laxity that would warrant separate ratings for instability under Diagnostic Code 5257. The Veteran's symptoms were primarily related to limitation of motion and pain, which are already addressed in the current rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the right knee, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- May 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18104046
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 18104046.
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 an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee DJD from October 1, 2008 to August 30, 2010 due to the lack of evidence showing limitation of flexion or extension that would warrant a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected DJD of the left knee and left knee lateral instability, from December 15, 2009, to September 5, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for DJD and instability of both knees but granted separate 20 percent ratings for dislocated semilunar cartilage in the left and right knees.
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