The Board denied the use of the bilateral factor to calculate the Veteran's rating for service-connected painful scars of the left and right knees. The Veteran is already receiving a higher rating than warranted under the diagnostic code.
The deciding factor: The rating criteria under DC 7804 do not contemplate separate evaluations for different zones of the body, so the bilateral factor does not apply.
- Claimed conditions
- painful scars of the left knee, painful scars of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2025
- Citation
- A25000447
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 915 · Granted: 38% (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 A25000447.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for hypothyroidism is being remanded. The restoration of a 10 percent evaluation for painful scars of the left knee from January 26, 2020 through January 26, 2021 is granted.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected conditions, including painful scars of the right knee, left foot plantar fasciitis, residuals of fracture of the left talus, and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. The claims were denied as the evidence did not support higher ratings or an earlier effective date.
- Partly granted
The veteran was granted a 20% rating for painful scars on the right knee but denied a higher rating for degenerative arthritis of the right knee.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to a failure to obtain records from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Veteran's correct SSA number was not used in the initial request, and the AOJ is instructed to make another request using the correct number.
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