The Board dismissed the appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent prior to November 19, 2015, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter, for lumbar back strain. The claim for a higher rating for right knee degenerative joint disease (DJD) is remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew the issue of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent prior to November 19, 2015, and in excess of 40 percent thereafter, for lumbar back strain.
- Claimed conditions
- lumbar back strain, right knee degenerative joint disease (DJD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20003186
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 service connection for right and left knee degenerative joint disease to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error by providing notice of the Veteran's right to a hearing.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, diagnosed as lumbar back strain, degenerative disc disease with posterior annular fissuring at L5-S1, and osteochondrosis and spondyloarthrosis L4-5 and L5-S1.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable evaluation for right hand 5th finger sprain and a rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee degenerative joint disease, and remanded several service connection claims due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 10 percent rating for slight right knee instability but denied ratings in excess of 20 percent and 10 percent for the torn meniscus and degenerative joint disease, respectively.
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