The Veteran's hypertension is granted an initial 10 percent rating. Ratings for his right and left wrist ganglion cysts with tendonitis are denied as they do not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 5214 due to lack of ankylosis. Service connection issues remain pending.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hypertension does not meet the criteria for a higher than 10 percent rating based on blood pressure readings that did not exceed 160/90 or 110/70, respectively. The wrist ganglion cysts with tendonitis do not meet the criteria for ankylosis as no VA examiner found such condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Ganglion cyst right wrist with tendonitis, Ganglion cyst left wrist with tendonitis, Patellofemoral syndrome with medial meniscus tear, right knee, Patellofemoral syndrome with partial ACL tear and medial meniscus tear, left knee
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 19, 2024
- Citation
- 24002870
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 899 · Granted: 45% (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 24002870.
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 denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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