The Board granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected DJD of the left knee and left knee lateral instability, from December 15, 2009, to September 5, 2014.
The deciding factor: The evidence demonstrated that during the appellate period, the Veteran's DJD of the left knee was akin to ankylosis in full extension or slight flexion between zero and 10 degrees, while his left knee lateral instability resulted in severe recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the left knee, Left knee lateral instability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- December 10, 2025
- Citation
- 25014727
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · Granted: 37% (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 25014727.
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 Board denied an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee DJD from October 1, 2008 to August 30, 2010 due to the lack of evidence showing limitation of flexion or extension that would warrant a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to obtain a new VA medical opinion regarding the severity of the left knee DJD without the ameliorative effects of medication during the limited appeal period.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for DJD and instability of both knees but granted separate 20 percent ratings for dislocated semilunar cartilage in the left and right knees.
- Granted
The Veteran's left knee DJD resulted in chronic pain and limitation of flexion to at most 90 degrees, even with flare-ups. A separate rating for limitation of extension was granted effective December 20, 2017.
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