The Board granted increased ratings of 50% for each knee, but failed to address the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on loss of use of his legs preventing natural knee action.
The deciding factor: The Board incorrectly applied statutory and regulatory provisions in effect at the time by failing to explicitly adjudicate an inferred SMC claim due to the Veteran's service-connected knees resulting in loss of use of his lower extremities.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee osteochondritis dissecans, left knee osteochondritis dissecans
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19100236
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 19100236.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate nexus opinions regarding the Veteran's right knee disability. The claim will be further evaluated with an addendum opinion from a clinician.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of right knee osteochondritis dissecans was granted, with the effective date set to May 16, 1969.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that there has been substantial compliance with its remand instructions and is now remanding the claims for increased ratings for left knee disability based on limitation of extension, flexion, and instability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his neck and left knee disabilities, as well as service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea are being remanded due to outstanding records not having been obtained. The Veteran's VA treatment records suggest there may be relevant private treatment records that have not been associated with the claims file.
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