The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus grants total disability rating for compensation based on individual unemployability.
The deciding factor: The cumulative effect of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including limitations in his lower extremities, lumbar spine, and hiatal hernia, more likely than not prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis with painful motion of the left knee, Hiatal hernia (secondary to medications for service-connected left knee), Degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbar spine (secondary to service-connected left knee), Lumbar radiculopathy of the right lower extremity (secondary to service-connected left knee), Degenerative arthritis with painful motion of the right knee (secondary to service-connected left knee)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 18, 2020
- Citation
- A20019009
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 A20019009.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Granted
The Board granted a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's migraine headaches based on prostrating attacks occurring more than once a month and severe economic inadaptability.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of his left foot, as there was no evidence showing that the service-connected conditions resulted in functional limitation equal to that of amputation of the left foot with prosthesis.
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