The Veteran's left knee disability is rated at 10 percent, and the cervical spine disability is rated at 20 percent. The Board finds that these ratings are appropriate based on the evidence of record.,The Veteran’s cervical spine disability has not resulted in ankylosis or incapacitating episodes as required for higher ratings.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not show ankylosis, instability, or flexion/extension limitations that would warrant a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertrophic changes, left knee, Degenerative disc disease, cervical spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- A20015932
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 A20015932.
What this means for you
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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 degenerative disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) and spinal fusion, as well as for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine. The decision is based on evidence showing that these conditions are at least as likely as not related to incidents during active duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a VA examination to address the Veteran's need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's cervical and lumbar spine disabilities as well as left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under applicable criteria.
- Denied
The Veteran's cervical spine disability, left shoulder strain, and radiculopathy of the upper extremities were all denied ratings in excess of their current assigned ratings.
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