The Veteran's claim for service connection for traumatic brain injury is denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,The Veteran's claim for increased disability rating for thoracolumbar degenerative joint disease with degenerative disc disease at L4-S1 is denied as his disability does not meet or approximate criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating.,The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for left knee and right knee disabilities are denied as there is no evidence of the conditions warranting a higher than 10 percent rating.,A separate 10 percent disability rating is granted for slight lateral instability of the right knee from July 30, 2019.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of traumatic brain injury and there is no medical evidence to support such a claim.,The Veteran's thoracolumbar degenerative joint disease with degenerative disc disease at L4-S1 does not meet or approximate criteria for a higher than 20 percent rating as his disability does not result in limitation of forward flexion to 30 degrees or less, ankylosis, or incapacitating episodes of disc disease having a total duration of at least four weeks during a 12-month period.,The Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities do not meet or approximate criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating as there is no evidence of limitation of flexion in either knee that warrants such a rating.,From July 30, 2019, the Veteran's right knee disability has been manifested by slight lateral instability which meets the criteria for a separate 10 percent disability rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury, Thoracolumbar Degenerative Joint Disease with Degenerative Disc Disease at L4-S1, Degenerative Arthritis of the Left Knee, Right Knee Osteoarthritis, Slight Lateral Instability of the Right Knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20041619
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 20041619.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial ratings for anxiety disorder and TBI were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding that the current conditions are not related to service due to lack of evidence of a chronic condition during service or post-service continuity.
- Granted
The Board granted entitlement to SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(t) effective January 21, 2019, based on the appellant's need for regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected TBI.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected traumatic brain injury is being remanded due to a procedural error.
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