The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, as his combined disability rating is at least 40% since March 9, 2009. The Board finds the Veteran may be unemployable due to his knee disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has a combination of service-connected disabilities that make him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
- Claimed conditions
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with bipolar I disorder, degenerative joint disease (DJD) right knee, painful right knee scars associated with right knee DJD, instability DJD right knee, status post partial meniscotomy, scars, residuals of right knee surgical procedure associated with DJD, right knee status post meniscus repair
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2023
- Citation
- 23047942
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 23047942.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 Veteran's claims for a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and knee conditions, as well as his TDIU claim. The examination should consider functional loss during flare-ups.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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