The Veteran's ratings for his left and right knee disabilities were adjusted, with the left knee receiving a higher rating of 20 percent effective February 20, 2008, and the right knee receiving a higher rating of 10 percent effective June 12, 2015. The TDIU claim was denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's knee disabilities were found to be more severe than reflected by their current ratings due to pain, weakness, instability, subluxation, limited motion, and a meniscal tear on each side.
- Claimed conditions
- Chondromalacia patella, Arthritis of the left knee, Arthritis of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- February 25, 2020
- Citation
- 20014259
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 20014259.
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 and left knee patella tendon repairs, with painful motion, have been granted increased ratings of 20 percent each. The instability in both knees has also been rated at 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and clarification regarding the severity of the Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities, specifically to determine if the Veteran has experienced 'the functional equivalent of range of motion loss contemplated by the next higher rating' at any point during the appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, and bilateral tinnitus. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis was denied. Other claims were either granted or remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left knee disability and a right knee disability, finding that the Veteran's arthritis of both knees is not related to an injury or disease incurred in active service and has not been caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability.
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