The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for right shoulder, lumbar spine, and right knee degenerative arthritis have been denied as the evidence does not show that his conditions meet or approximate the criteria for a higher disability rating under the applicable rating schedule.
The deciding factor: The objective medical evidence did not document any form of ankylosis in the Veteran's right shoulder, unfavorable ankylosis in the entire thoracolumbar spine, or limitation of flexion to 30 degrees or worse in his right knee for any period on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Degenerative Arthritis, Lumbar Spine Degenerative Arthritis, Right Knee Degenerative Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104117
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 19104117.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted earlier effective dates for service connection of peripheral vestibular disorder with dizziness/vertigo, depressive disorder, left knee degenerative arthritis, and right knee degenerative arthritis all from July 4, 2023.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's disability ratings for right and left knee degenerative arthritis from 10 percent to 10 percent effective January 8, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has restored the prior ratings for right and left knee degenerative arthritis, but has remanded the issues of increased ratings due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD rating is restored to 50 percent, but his other orthopedic disabilities remain in dispute and require further review.,His cervical strain, DJD of the left knee, and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis are all rated below their maximum possible ratings due to lack of evidence showing they meet or approximate the criteria for higher ratings.
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