The Board granted increased ratings for the Veteran's knee to 30 percent pre-replacement (from June 1, 2009 to September 1, 2009) and 60 percent post-replacement (from November 1, 2010 to March 3, 2013).
The deciding factor: The Veteran's right knee strain manifested as severe instability without flexion limited to 45 degrees or extension limited to 10 degrees even in contemplation of functional loss due to symptoms such as pain, fatigue, weakness, lack of endurance, or incoordination, or as a result of repetitive motion and/or flare-ups. The Veteran's total right knee replacement with degenerative joint disease has manifested in chronic residuals consisting of severe painful motion or weakness in the affected extremity; this is the maximum schedular rating available.
- Claimed conditions
- right knee strain, total right knee replacement with degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2021
- Citation
- 21062446
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hip and knee disabilities, as well as a TDIU claim, to ensure adequate VA examinations are conducted.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for left hip iliopsoas tendonitis, right knee strain, and left knee strain as secondary to lumbosacral strain. Service connection was also granted for cannabis use disorder as secondary to mental health conditions of PTSD, major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, and TBI. However, the Board denied an initial disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD and granted a separate disability rating of 40 percent for TBI.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for right knee strain and instability but granted a separate 10 percent rating for right knee limitation of extension from November 25, 2024.
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