The Veteran's left knee degenerative arthritis is productive of painful motion limited to, at worst, 95 degrees of flexion and subjective mild instability symptoms. The Board finds a separate rating of 10 percent for instability is warranted.,The Veteran’s degenerative changes of the lower back with new onset facet fracture are productive of forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine of 30 degrees or less, warranting an initial rating of 40 percent. The Board finds no higher rating is warranted.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left knee degenerative arthritis does not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating due to limitation of motion and instability.,The Veteran’s degenerative changes of the lower back with new onset facet fracture meets the criteria for an initial rating of 40 percent as forward flexion is limited to 30 degrees or less.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the left knee, Degenerative changes of the lower back with new onset facet fracture, Radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (sciatic nerve), Radiculopathy of the left lower extremity (sciatic nerve)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- May 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18105292
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 18105292.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's lumbar spine condition and lower extremity radiculopathy conditions were rated at 40 percent and 20 percent, respectively, effective May 24, 2022.,Prior to May 24, 2022, there is no evidence of an increase in severity for the Veteran's lumbar spine condition or lower extremity radiculopathy conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the left shoulder, left knee, and right knee due to inadequate VA examinations in August 2020 and January 2021.
- Denied
The Board denied higher ratings for the Veteran's knee and cervical spine disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right and left knees, but remanded the issue of a low back disability for further development.
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