The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee degenerative joint disease have been denied as the evidence does not show that either condition warrants a rating in excess of 10 percent.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for left great toe numbness has been remanded due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support the need for higher ratings based on the current functional impairment and lack of ankylosis, instability or other significant structural abnormalities in either knee.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Knee, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Knee, Sciatica of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19187387
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 19187387.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee instability and limitation of extension associated with degenerative joint disease are rated at 20 percent from June 14, 2010 to January 11, 2016.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased initial disability rating for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee is being remanded due to inadequate VA examination reports. The Board finds that additional evidence and a new medical opinion are needed to properly assess the severity of the Veteran's condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's right knee condition is rated at 30 percent for the period beginning February 2, 2024. The rating was denied as his symptoms do not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The case is remanded due to insufficient information regarding the severity of the Veteran's left knee recurrent subluxation at the December 2022 VA examination, and further development is needed.
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