The Veteran's service-connected left knee and right ankle disabilities precluded him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment consistent with his educational and occupational background, granting a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's left knee disability caused functional impairment with occupational activity that would require prolonged walking, limiting substantially gainful employment to light work. His prior employment as a radiology technician required heavy lifting up to 100 pounds and being on his feet for long periods, which he was unable to perform due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Left knee disability, Right ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2025
- Citation
- 25006187
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · Granted: 27% (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 25006187.
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 claim for an earlier effective date of January 10, 1997, for a 10% disability rating for his right ankle disability is denied as there was no CUE in the previous decisions.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU claim for bilateral knee disabilities and his right and left knee scars have been granted. He is now rated at a combined 60% disability rating from June 1, 2018 based on bilateral factors for his bilateral knee disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's entitlement to higher level of SMC at the intermediate rate is granted, effective from January 8, 2021. He was previously in need of aid and attendance due to his left knee disability since February 1, 2017, and now has additional disabilities rated at 50 percent or more.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's right ankle disability is related to his service. The VA examiner must provide an opinion on this matter.
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