The Veteran's right patellofemoral syndrome is rated at 20 percent, and his service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since May 1, 2011. The Board has remanded the claims for degenerative joint disease of the left knee and bilateral Achilles tendonitis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right patellofemoral syndrome is currently rated at 20 percent under DC 5257, which does not allow for a higher rating due to lack of evidence of severe recurrent subluxation or lateral instability. His service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment since May 1, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- right patellofemoral syndrome, degenerative joint disease of the left knee, bilateral Achilles tendonitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- July 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20048053
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 20048053.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, as well as his right knee scar. The RO must attempt to obtain all available private treatment records from the Tennessee Orthopedic Clinic.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease of the left (non-dominant) shoulder, right knee, and left knee are being remanded due to a failure to issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC).,The Veteran's claim for TDIU is also being remanded as it was denied in the most recent rating decision without an SSOC having been issued.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his combined schedular ratings did not meet the threshold requirement for consideration of TDIU. The case was remanded multiple times and ultimately denied again.
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