RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	CASE:  PD-2017-03396
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  Army	SEPARATION DATE:  20071108

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E4, Technical Engineer, medically separated for “posttraumatic arthritis right knee” with a disability rating of 0%.  

CI CONTENTION:  “Due to my knee problem it is stopping me to get the required available job.”  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 – 20070621	VARD - NA	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating	Exam	
Posttraumatic Arthritis Right Knee	5010	0%	No VA Examination Proximate to Separation in Evidence	
COMBINED RATING:  0%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS:  NA	

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:  

Posttraumatic Arthritis, Right Knee.  According to the service treatment record and the MEB narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI underwent right knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and lateral and medial meniscus debridement in May 2006.  The 17 January 2007 MEB NARSUM examination, 10 months prior to separation, noted complaints of right knee pain.  Physical examination showed full range of motion (ROM).  He was tender around his patella and the portal sites and had pain with patellar grind, but the knee was stable.  The 9 May 2007 physical therapy MEB ROM examination of, the right knee, following repetitive movement, showed flexion of 133 degrees (normal 140) and extension of 0 degrees (normal) with painful motion.  There was no VA examination proximate to separation in evidence.  Stability testing was symmetric with a Lachman’s of 1+ on both knees.  

The panel directed attention to its rating recommendation based on the above evidence.  The PEB rated the right knee condition 0%, coded 5010 (arthritis, due to trauma), citing full ROM with painful motion.  There was no limitation of flexion or extension that supported a rating under the VASRD diagnostic codes for limitation of motion (5260 or 5261).  However, there was evidence of painful motion with functional loss supporting a 10% rating (based on §4.59, §4.40 and §4.45).  Given meniscal surgery, the analogous 5259 code (cartilage, semilunar, removal of, symptomatic) was also applicable in this case, and provided an alternate route to a 10% rating.  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 no history or evidence of dislocated meniscus or loose body causing frequent locking with recurrent effusions (5258) to support a rating under that code.  After due deliberation, considering all of the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the panel recommends a disability rating of 10% for the right knee condition, coded 5010.  

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the right knee condition, the panel recommends a disability rating of 10%, coded 5010 IAW VASRD §4.71a.  There are no other conditions within the panel’s scope of review for consideration.  

The panel recommends the CI’s prior determination be modified as follows, effective the date of medical separation:  

CONDITION	VASRD CODE	PERMANENT RATING	
Posttraumatic Arthritis, Right Knee	5010	10%	

AR20180015373, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review (DoD PDBR)
reviewed your application and found that your disability rating should be modified but
not to the degree that would justify changing your separation for disability with
severance pay to a permanent retirement with disability. I have reviewed the Board’s
recommendation and record of proceedings (copy enclosed) and I accept its
recommendation. This will not result in any change to your separation document or the
amount of severance pay. A copy of this decision will be filed with your Physical
Evaluation Board records. I regret that the facts of the case did not provide you with the
outcome you may have desired.
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.
A copy of this decision has also been provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs.