The Veteran's right knee scars and degenerative joint disease are rated as noncompensably disabling prior to April 15, 2019. The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for both the left and right knee scars. However, the claim is remanded due to insufficient information provided in the January 2017 VA examination regarding the severity of the Veteran's right knee disability.
The deciding factor: The January 2017 VA examination did not provide sufficient information on the functional loss during flare-ups and repetitive use, as required by precedential case law (Sharp v. Shulkin, Correia v. McDonald, Mitchell v. Shinseki).
- Claimed conditions
- Right knee scars, Left knee scars, Right knee degenerative joint disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2023
- Citation
- 23048080
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 23048080.
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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's left knee scars do not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating under any applicable VA rating criteria, and thus denied his claim.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee scars are rated at a separate 10 percent under Diagnostic Code 7804 throughout the entire period on appeal, but no higher. The Board denied an initial compensable rating for the service-connected right knee scars under Diagnostic Code 7805.
- Granted
The Veteran's right knee disability is granted as service connected, effective August 19, 2009. The Veteran's MDD is rated at 70 percent and his TDIU due to MDD is also granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for his bilateral pes planus, right leg length discrepancy, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, right knee scars, or limitation of extension and flexion of the left knee.
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