The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's right knee disability, finding that her symptoms did not warrant higher ratings based on limitation of motion or instability.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed flexion limited to at most 90 degrees with full extension and no ankylosis, recurrent subluxation, lateral instability, dislocation, impairment of the tibia and fibula, or genu recurvatum. The Veteran's symptoms did not meet criteria for higher ratings under Diagnostic Codes 5260 (limitation of flexion) or 5261 (limitation of extension).
- Claimed conditions
- retropatellar pain syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the spine with intervertebral syndrome, left knee strain, right ankle collateral ligament sprain, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20066895
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hip and knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim, to ensure adequate VA examinations are conducted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
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