The Veteran's appeal concerning the earlier effective date for a 10 percent rating for left knee degenerative arthritis is dismissed.,A separate 10 percent rating, but no higher, for left knee instability from November 5, 2012 is granted. The Veteran’s claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his left knee condition remains denied.,Secondary service connection for back and bilateral hip disabilities are granted.
The deciding factor: The earlier effective date appeal was withdrawn by the Veteran during his October 2018 Board hearing.,The Veteran's left knee disability has been productive of painful, but noncompensable limitation of motion for the entire rating period. A separate 10 percent rating is warranted under DC 5257 since the beginning of the appeal period due to slight instability.,Secondary service connection is granted as the Veteran’s back and bilateral hip disabilities are proximately due to his knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee degenerative arthritis, back disability, bilateral hip disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125551
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right ankle, left ankle, back disability, and other conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran was awarded service connection for allergic rhinitis based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date prior to August 10, 2022, is not warranted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a back disability, effective immediately. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for left knee tendonitis with patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative joint disease based on limitation of flexion from October 4, 2024, to the present, and a 50 percent rating for the same condition from February 5, 2025, to the present.
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