The Veteran's claim for increased ratings of his right knee and shoulder disabilities, as well as the effective date for the right shoulder increase, was granted. The SMC claim was also granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran needed assistance with toileting, bathing, showering, and managing medications due to service-connected conditions, meeting the criteria for aid and attendance.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Right Knee, Bicipital Tendonitis of the Right Shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 24, 2024
- Citation
- A24068505
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,963 · Granted: 32% (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 A24068505.
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 Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee DJD and TKA disabilities have been denied. The initial rating of 10 percent for DJD prior to April 5, 2011, and the subsequent rating of 40 percent from that date until February 1, 2015, are not supported by the evidence. For the period from March 1, 2016, through October 10, 2022, a 30 percent rating is denied, and on or after October 11, 2022, a 60 percent rating is also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of her disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The issues include Type II Diabetes Mellitus, Insomnia, Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Left Knee, DJD of the Right Knee, and Hypothyroidism.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for ratings in excess of 30 percent for right knee total arthroplasty, a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease (DJD) of the right knee, and a rating in excess of 10 percent for a left ankle disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new examination to address the severity of his right knee disability and its impact on his employment.
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