The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his service-connected left knee chondromalacia and internal derangement disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 20 percent for the chondromalacia or 10 percent for the internal derangement. A separate 20 percent rating was granted for lateral instability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left knee chondromalacia and internal derangement disabilities were rated based on their impact on range of motion, with no evidence supporting a higher rating due to additional functional loss or other factors.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee chondromalacia, left knee internal derangement
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20068791
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.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeal for higher ratings of his left and right knee conditions, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher initial rating for left knee limitation of extension and an increased rating for left knee chondromalacia.
- Dismissed
The proposed reductions of the veteran's right and left knee chondromalacia ratings were dismissed as there was no final rating action taken, and the disabilities remained rated at 40 percent during the applicable period.
- Partly granted
The appeal for service connection for sleep disorder is dismissed, and the Veteran's claims for service connection for alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and lower back strain are denied. The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD.
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