The Board found that the reduction of the disability rating from 20% to 10% for service-connected residuals of right knee sprain was proper and denied restoration. A separate 10% rating was granted for painful motion due to degenerative arthritis, effective August 18, 2015.
The deciding factor: The reduction in disability rating from 20% to 10% under Diagnostic Code 5257 was found to be proper based on the evidence of sustained material improvement as shown by full and complete examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Sprain, Degenerative Arthritis of Right Knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19139988
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 122 · 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 19139988.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for right knee disability was denied. The Board found that the June 2013 rating decision did not contain CUE in failing to assign separate evaluations for instability and swelling.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling new VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence submitted since the January 2019 rating decision, which suggests that the Veteran's PTSD significantly worsened and now requires regular aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee sprain and instability have been granted separate evaluations, with the sprain receiving a 10% evaluation effective June 19, 2014, and the instability receiving a 10% evaluation effective March 16, 2015. The earlier effective date for service connection of right knee instability is set at March 16, 2015.
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