The Veteran's right and left knee disabilities, each warranting staged ratings of no more than 20 percent prior to April 17, 2013; a combined (based on a formulation of 20 percent under Code 5258 and 10 percent under Code 5003) increased rating of 30 percent from April 17, 2013 to October 4, 2016: and a combined (40 percent under Code 5261 and 20 percent under Code 5258) increased rating of 50 percent from October 4, 2016. The Veteran's tinea of the right popliteal fossa is not shown to have been manifested by scarring or to have involved at least 5 percent of the total body or exposed areas or to have required intermittent systemic therapy.

The deciding factor: The VA examination findings and medical opinions supported the staged increased ratings for the Veteran's knee disabilities, with a combined rating of 50% from October 4, 2016. The tinea condition was not shown to meet the criteria for a compensable rating as it did not involve scarring or at least 5 percent of the total body or exposed areas.

Claimed conditions

{"condition_name":"Right Knee Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Left Knee Disability"}, {"condition_name":"Tinea of Right Popliteal Fossa"}

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

50%

Decision date

August 27, 2019

Citation

19166402

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 19166402.