The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for total disability due to individual unemployability for the period prior to March 7, 2011 based on his service-connected rheumatic heart disease and left knee degenerative changes.
The deciding factor: The severity of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation for the period prior to March 7, 2011.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease, left knee degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20073963
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,185 · Granted: 28% (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 20073963.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal regarding his eligibility for the Program for Comprehensive Assistance for Caregivers (PCAFC) is being remanded due to inadequate notice and compliance with regulatory requirements. The Board will adjudicate whether he meets criteria for personal care services, best interests of participation, and other pertinent criteria.
- Granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, right knee degenerative changes, and left knee degenerative changes.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatic heart disease was granted. The claim for hypertensive vascular disease was remanded.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for left knee degenerative changes was granted as secondary to service-connected right ankle tendonitis. The claim for eye disability was remanded for further examination.
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