The Veteran's bilateral knee disability is granted as service-connected, and his right ankle disability remains at a 20% rating. The Board found the evidence in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's current knee disabilities are related to active duty service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner provided medical opinions supporting the Veteran's claim of in-service injury and resulting chronic bilateral knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral knee disability, bilateral patella tendinopathy, osteoarthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- November 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20074618
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (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 20074618.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted an increase in PCAFC benefits to Level 2, finding that the Veteran requires continuous supervision or protection due to his cognitive decline and repeated falls.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities were granted effective from January 2, 2022. The Board also remanded other issues including back and skin disorders.
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