The Veteran's initial ratings for lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease, left knee degenerative joint disease, right knee degenerative joint disease, and right shoulder tendonitis have been denied as his conditions do not warrant a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s back, bilateral knees, and right shoulder disabilities are currently rated at their minimum levels due to the lack of evidence showing that they meet or approximate the criteria for any higher ratings under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar spondylosis with degenerative disc disease, left knee degenerative joint disease, right knee degenerative joint disease, right shoulder tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124562
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,676 · Granted: 24% (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 19124562.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability, including without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for his service-connected left shoulder tendonitis, right shoulder tendonitis, left knee tendonitis, and right elbow tendinitis (impairment of supination and pronation) have been denied.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his service-connected right elbow tendinitis (limitation of flexion) has also been denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee degenerative joint disease, including secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, is granted. The condition was not related to military service and no aggravation by the service-connected left knee disability could be established.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability was not shown to be related to service or any service-connected conditions, and the Board denied his claim for service connection.
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