The Veteran's right knee disability, including removal of semilunar cartilage and scars, is rated at a 10 percent effective from March 31, 2011. The tricompartmental chondromalacia right knee with post-surgical repair of anterior cruciate ligament remains rated at 20 percent.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's symptoms are consistent with his history and surgery, warranting a separate 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5259 for symptomatic removal of semilunar cartilage.
- Claimed conditions
- tricompartmental chondromalacia right knee, right kneecap disability (post-surgical repair of anterior cruciate ligament), removal of semilunar cartilage
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 23, 2019
- Citation
- A19000349
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19000349.
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 left knee disability, including symptoms of locking, catching, pain, instability, and removal of semilunar cartilage, warrants a separate 20 percent rating.
- 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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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