The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 23, 1998, for the grant of a TDIU rating because his service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable prior to that date.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed that the Veteran’s service-connected left knee and low back conditions did not preclude all forms of substantially gainful work, including in the postal service which offered sedentary positions consistent with his functional ability.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee instability, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, limitation of left knee motion
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- April 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19130262
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral knee instability and denied service connection for right and left knee instability, finding no nexus between the Veteran's knee conditions and his service or service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for a thoracolumbar spine disorder and bilateral knee disorders due to the need for additional VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board denied restoration of the 30 percent ratings for left knee arthritis (flexion), left knee strain arthritis (extension), and left knee instability, as well as a 20 percent rating for left ankle chronic sprain. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were also denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right knee gout and a rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's right wrist condition, while remanding several other issues related to his knees and instability.
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