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
- Left Knee Disability, Right Knee Disability, 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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 19166402.
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 service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability, finding that there is no evidence to support an etiological relationship between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no evidence of clear and unmistakable error in assigning an effective date of June 19, 2002.
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