The Veteran's service-connected left knee disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left knee conditions have been shown by the medical evidence to impact his ability to walk, limiting his capacity for employment in physically demanding roles such as mail carrier and fireman.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee meniscectomy, ligament repair, status post surgery, post traumatic degenerative joint disease of the left knee, scars associated with the Veteran’s left knee surgery, left knee anterior instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 40%
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074278
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,062 · Granted: 34% (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 20074278.
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 Board has determined that additional development is necessary for the Veteran's claims of increased ratings for his back and knee disabilities, as the most recent VA examinations did not adequately assess the severity of these conditions due to a lack of consideration of flare-ups. The case is therefore being remanded for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities and SMC based on loss of use of the bilateral lower extremities.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected conditions, including depressive disorder, right and left patellar tendonitis, left knee anterior instability, and right ankle sprain. As such, the appeal for service connection of OSA has been granted.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings in excess of 20 percent for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, bilateral knee disabilities, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.
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