The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for left knee limitation of motion, associated with degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the left knee. The Veteran's flexion is not limited to 30 degrees or less and extension is not limited to more than 0 degrees at any time on appeal.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners' findings did not show ankylosis, but they found that the Veteran's range of motion was within limits for a 20 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5258 (dislocated semilunar cartilage with frequent episodes of 'locking', pain, and effusion into the joint).
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23000779
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 23000779.
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 an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee DJD from October 1, 2008 to August 30, 2010 due to the lack of evidence showing limitation of flexion or extension that would warrant a higher rating.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected DJD of the left knee and left knee lateral instability, from December 15, 2009, to September 5, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for DJD and instability of both knees but granted separate 20 percent ratings for dislocated semilunar cartilage in the left and right knees.
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