Board decisionsVA Case Search

Board of Veterans' Appeals · AMA series

Service connection for left knee disability is granted.

July 30, 2026Citation Nr. A26069909Docket 260212-642125va.gov source

  • left knee disabilityGranted
  • hearing lossGranted
  • psychiatric disability (PTSD and insomnia)Granted
  • right knee disability (rating)Granted
  • allergic rhinitisGranted
  • hemorrhoidsGranted
  • acneDenied

Board reasoning

The Board granted service connection or increased ratings for all conditions where the evidence supported a change and denied acne for lack of evidence of compensable scarring or disfigurement. In each grant or denial, the Board weighed lay statements and medical opinions, considered secondary and direct service connections, and applied DeLuca and applicable rating criteria to determine functional impairment and proper rating. The Board cited medical examinations and lay testimony to find either a present disability or the appropriate level of disability, and explained why a higher rating was not warranted in certain aspects, while noting secondary relationships between knee conditions.

Issues

  • left knee disabilityGranted
  • hearing lossGranted
  • psychiatric disability (PTSD and insomnia)Granted
  • right knee disability (rating)Granted
  • allergic rhinitisGranted
  • hemorrhoidsGranted
  • acneDenied

Authorities

  • Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356Explains need for functional impairment showing disability for Saunders standard
  • Wait v. Wilkie, 33 Vet. App. 8Shows requirement of earning-capacity evidence for disability under Saunders
  • Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120Adequate medical history consideration

Extracted with gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07. Citations are kept only when they appear in the decision text.