The Board has granted service connection for left knee disabilities, including strain and residuals from November 2010 meniscal surgery, as well as for residuals of a left rib cage injury with pain and functional loss. The decision is based on the presumption that these conditions are related to in-service injuries.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's current left knee disabilities and left rib cage disability are at least equipoise with his competent and credible statements regarding their onset during service, leading to a finding of soundness for the former and an inference of causation for the latter.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee disabilities, residuals from left rib cage injury
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007603
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,506 · Granted: 43% (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 20007603.
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 Veteran's right knee disabilities were granted service connection and an increased rating. Other conditions, including IBS, bilateral hip disabilities, left knee disabilities, and hypothyroidism, received increased ratings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of increased initial ratings for the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities since January 14, 2019. The AOJ is instructed to correct an error in assigning a 30 percent rating after termination of the temporary total rating without medical evidence, and to schedule a VA examination for the left knee.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including panic disorder, bilateral shoulder disabilities, and left knee disabilities, have rendered him unable to obtain or maintain gainful employment from September 27, 2016, to October 11, 2022. The Board has granted a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for this period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his obesity, which may have caused or aggravated his sleep apnea.
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