The Veteran's claim for a disability rating greater than 30 percent for right knee anterior cruciate ligament tear has been denied. The Board found that the objective range of motion findings throughout the appeal period showed extension limited to, at worst, 20 degrees and flexion limited to, at worst, 90 degrees, even in contemplation of functional loss due to pain and other factors.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right knee disability was rated based on limitation of motion under DCs 5260-5261. The examiner found that the Veteran’s range of motion testing showed flexion limited to 90 degrees and extension limited to 20 degrees, which did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069574
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20069574.
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 Veteran's right knee disability is rated at 10 percent, and service connection for deep vein thrombosis of the right leg is granted. The rating in excess of 10 percent for the right knee disability is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability has been granted a rating of 10 percent for limitation of flexion, with separate ratings for extension and instability throughout the appeal period.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for a new examination as the current evidence may not reflect the current state of his disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and requests for additional medical records.
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