The Veteran is granted entitlement to TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities, which include dysthymic disorder, right elbow strain, and right knee strain. The left knee disorder remains denied as not incurred in or related to active service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's combined rating of 80% for service-connected conditions renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- Left Knee Disorder, Right Elbow Strain, Right Knee Strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- December 28, 2018
- Citation
- 18160761
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 18160761.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's right and left knee strains, as well as shin splints, were granted increased ratings. The Veteran also received special monthly compensation at the housebound rate from October 25, 2017 to March 11, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's right knee disability rating from 10% to 30%, effective July 1, 2025, finding that the reduction was improper and constituted a de facto severance of service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for left ankle, bilateral knee, and left hip disability. The Veteran's initial 10 percent rating for left thigh strain with limitation of flexion is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right and left hip disorders due to a pre-decisional error in obtaining an adequate nexus opinion prior to the June 2021 rating decision.
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