RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXX	CASE:  PD-2017-01089
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  Army 	SEPARATION DATE:  20050919

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E3, Paralegal Specialist, medically separated for “chronic right knee pain” with a disability rating of 10%.   

CI CONTENTION:  No specific contention was made.  The complete submission is at Exhibit A.  

SCOPE OF REVIEW:  The panel’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44.  It is limited to review of disability ratings assigned to those conditions determined by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be unfitting for continued military service, and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), but determined by the PEB to be not unfitting or non-compensable.  Any conditions outside the panel’s defined scope of review, and any contention not requested in this application, may remain eligible for future consideration by the Board for Correction of Military Records.  The panel’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections when appropriate.  The panel’s assessment of the PEB rating determination is based on review of medical records and all available evidence relevant to application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards for the unfitting medical condition(s) at the time of separation.  The panel has neither the role nor the authority to compensate for post-separation progression or complications of service-connected conditions; that role and authority is granted by Congress to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates under a different set of laws.  The panel gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of disability at the time of separation.  

RATING COMPARISON:  

SERVICE PEB - 20050823	VARD - NA	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating	Exam	
Chronic Right Knee Pain	5099-5003	10%	No VA Examination Proximate to Separation in Evidence	
COMBINED RATING:  10%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS:  NA	

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:  

Right Knee Pain.  According to the service treatment record and MEB narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI’s right knee condition began in January 2005 after running.  Radiographic studies showed a normal knee and there was no surgical indication.  The 25 July 2005 MEB NARSUM examination, 2 months prior to separation, noted complaints of constant right knee pain, which increased with running, wearing a rucksack, wearing a load-bearing vest or just walking.  Physical examination showed a normal appearing knee without tenderness, swelling, ecchymosis or inflammation.  Goniometric range of motion (ROM) testing, after repetition, showed extension of 0 degrees (normal) and flexion of 135 (normal 140).  Provocative testing for knee instability or meniscal pathology was negative.  There was no VA examination proximate to separation in evidence. 

The panel directed attention to its rating recommendation based on the above evidence.  The PEB rated the right knee condition 10%, analogously coded as 5003 (degenerative arthritis), citing slight and frequent pain IAW the US Army Physical Disability Agency pain policy.  There was no limitation of motion which supported a rating under the diagnostic codes for limitation of flexion or extension (5260, 5261).  There was no history or evidence of dislocated meniscus or loose body causing frequent locking with recurrent effusions (5258), or history of surgery to remove a meniscus (5259) to support a rating under those codes. There was no fracture, nonunion or malunion of the femur or tibia to support consideration under the respective codes for knee impairment related to long bone conditions (5255, 5262).  There was therefore no VASRD §4.71a rating higher than the 10% adjudicated by the PEB under any applicable code.  After due deliberation, considering all the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the panel concluded there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB adjudication for the right knee condition.  

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the right knee condition and IAW VASRD §4.71a, the panel recommends no change in the PEB adjudication.  There are no other conditions within the panel’s scope of review for consideration.  Therefore, the panel recommends no modification or re-characterization of the CI’s disability and separation determination. 

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Dear XXXXXXXXXX:

	The Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review (DoD PDBR) reviewed your application and found your separation disability rating and your separation from the Army for disability with severance pay to be accurate.  I have reviewed the Board’s recommendation and record of proceedings (copy enclosed), and I accept its recommendation.  I regret to inform you that your application to the DoD PDBR is denied.  

	This decision is final.  Recourse within the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army is exhausted; however, you have the option to seek relief by filing suit in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.