Knee decisions — 2000

The Board has granted a 10% disability rating for the veteran's right knee chondromalacia, effective from the date of this decision.

The Board finds that the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee disability, bilateral ankle disability, low back disability and left wrist disability are not well grounded. The claim for an increased rating for post-traumatic tendonitis of the right shoulder is well grounded.

The Board has granted a 60 percent evaluation for the veteran's right knee disability, effective from March 1, 2000. The decision also addressed other issues related to his service-connected right knee and left knee disabilities.

The Board has granted a 20% rating for the veteran's right knee disorder and a separate 30% rating for his post-traumatic arthritis of the right knee, both based on their direct service connection.

The Board has granted a separate 10 percent rating for postoperative residuals of a left knee injury consisting of traumatic arthritis and limitation of motion, but denied an increased rating for the other condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's arthritis of the right knee was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The VA has granted service connection for a right knee disorder and assigned a noncompensable disability rating. The veteran is now seeking an increased evaluation to 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for sinus infections, left knee disorder, and neck disorder are not well-grounded because there is no credible evidence to support their onset or relationship to military service.

The veteran's claim for an extension of a temporary total disability rating beyond September 30, 1998 is denied as the surgery performed on January 9, 1998 did not result in additional convalescence.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for a stomach disorder was not well-grounded and denied it. The claims for increased evaluations of lumbar strain, left greater trochanteric bursitis, and iliotibial band syndrome of the left knee were also denied.

The Board has restored the veteran's original 30 percent evaluation for his service-connected chondromalacia, left knee, post-operative meniscectomy and osteotomy.

The veteran's claim for special monthly pension at the housebound rate was denied as his chronic disabilities did not meet the criteria for such benefits.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disorder warrants a rating of 20 percent, effective from July 1995.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for a left knee disorder and an increased evaluation for his service-connected left foot fractures, finding insufficient evidence to support these claims.

The VA has determined that the veteran's right knee disability, which is a result of a gunshot wound and now manifests as arthritis, does not warrant an increased rating beyond the current 20 percent.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for osteochondritis dissecans of the left knee, effective from April 1, 1995.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's left knee disability and did not address service connection for a right knee disability.

The Board found that the appellant's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle and right knee disabilities were not well grounded due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected left knee disability was denied by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The veteran's combined disability rating is 60 percent, which does not meet the schedular criteria for a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The case was remanded for further evaluation of whether the service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment.