The Veteran's initial increased ratings for left knee instability and patellar tendonitis with degenerative disease were denied. The Veteran was granted separate ratings of 30 percent for limited extension, but no higher, from January 6, 2020, and a 10 percent rating for instability, effective July 29, 2013.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support the assignment of higher disability ratings based on the Veteran's left knee conditions as his range of motion was within the criteria for the current assigned ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee patellar tendonitis, left knee degenerative disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- December 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20080433
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 20080433.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral knee and wrist disabilities were initially granted service connection with noncompensable ratings effective April 29, 2016. The Board has granted earlier effective dates of April 29, 2016 for the 10 percent ratings assigned for each disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA opinions are inadequate and remands the case for a new examination to clarify the current diagnosis of the Veteran's left knee disability, assess whether it would be less severe without service-connected PTSD, and determine if obesity is aggravated by PTSD.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial and increased evaluations for knee conditions, including patellar tendonitis, MCL sprain and meniscal tear, and meniscal tear, were denied. Separate evaluations for right and left knee instability were granted.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for multiple conditions and denied higher initial ratings for several service-connected disabilities.
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