The Veteran's lymphedema has been granted a 20 percent disability rating for the entire appeal period, which is the minimum compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 5201.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s lymphedema resulted in limited motion of his left arm to shoulder level, which is analogous to limitation of motion of the shoulder joint (Diagnostic Code 5201).
- Claimed conditions
- lymphedema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- December 31, 2020
- Citation
- 20081977
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 20081977.
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 remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's lymphedema, which may be related to Agent Orange exposure or service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal is remanded due to new evidence submitted after the initial decision, which includes private dermatologist treatment records diagnosing lymphedema. The VA examiner's opinion prior to this submission was deemed inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error and for a new VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for post-phlebitic syndrome, left and right lower extremities due to a duty-to-assist error in the prior rating decision. The VA examination was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements of symptoms and the prescription for special compression appliances.
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