The Veteran's left knee DJD and instability, as well as his lumbar spine disability, are all granted with specific ratings. The left knee DJD is rated at 10% from November 20, 2008 to December 3, 2018, and the lumbar spine disability remains at 20%. The Veteran's meniscus tear and instability each receive a separate 10% rating.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations consistently supported the findings of moderate knee DJD with instability and meniscal tear, warranting the granted ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease of the Left Knee, Lumbar Spine Degenerative Joint Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19194451
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19194451.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disability and a lumbar spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service.
- 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.
- 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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