The Board has granted service connection for depression as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities. The claims for increased ratings of chondromalacia patella of both knees and service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine are remanded.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately address whether the Veteran’s lumbar spine disorder is aggravated by his bilateral knee disabilities, and the medical opinions regarding the right and left knee disabilities were inadequate in addressing the aggravation aspect of secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, depression
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20012100
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 20012100.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
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