The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings in all four issues related to cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, right elbow, and left knee conditions.
The deciding factor: The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal as to the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for various spinal and joint conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (DDD) and osteoarthritis of the cervical spine, Osteoarthritis of the thoracolumbar spine, Right elbow bone spur with soft tissue irritation of the tendon and nerve, Degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178630
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,738 · 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 19178630.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 claims for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits prior to October 26, 2018, as they are inextricably intertwined with an extraschedular TDIU claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, effective August 30, 2022. The claim for a higher rating remains pending and will be remanded.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable, as he was able to maintain gainful employment prior to September 8, 2008. From September 8, 2008, the combined rating of his service-connected disabilities met the criteria for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render her unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, thus denying her claim for TDIU.
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