The Veteran's service-connected knee and back disabilities render her unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted TDIU based on this finding.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's service-connected knee and back conditions prevent her from performing sedentary work for an 8-hour day due to physical limitations such as pain, swelling, and difficulty standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease with Patellofemoral Syndrome of the Left Knee, Degenerative Joint Disease with Patellofemoral Syndrome of the Right Knee, Status Post Total Right Knee Replacement, Left Knee Total Arthroplasty, Degenerative Disc Disease and Arthritis of the Spine, Radiculopathy, Left Lower Extremity Associated with Degenerative Disc Disease and Arthritis of the Spine, Radiculopathy, Right Lower Extremity Associated with Degenerative Disc Disease and Arthritis of the Spine, Surgical Scar, Left Knee S/P Total Knee Arthroplasty
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- October 31, 2024
- Citation
- A24070898
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 575 · Granted: 29% (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 A24070898.
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 TDIU claim was denied as his service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU rating, and he is capable of performing substantially gainful employment.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him substantially confined to his dwelling, the immediate premises, a ward or clinical area of an institution due to a service-connected condition. He does not have one disability that is rated as totally disabling and an additional disability or disabilities that are independently rated or ratable as at least 60 percent disabling.
- Denied
The Veteran's right and left knee total arthroplasties have not resulted in severe painful motion or weakness, as required for a higher evaluation. The current evaluations of 30% are deemed appropriate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's left knee total arthroplasty is currently rated at 30 percent prior to July 10, 2019, and 40 percent thereafter. The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate explanation of why intermediate degrees of weakness, pain or limitation of motion do not warrant a higher rating.
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