Knee decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for hepatitis with secondary respiratory disorder, hearing loss, tinnitus, bilateral knee disorder, and eye disorder are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of current disabilities or a link between these conditions and service.

The Board finds that the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for residuals of a left knee injury is not well-grounded due to lack of medical evidence linking his current disability to any in-service injury or disease.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral knee disability is not well-grounded and denied it.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder, headache disorder, hypertension, and left knee disorder are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service disease or injury leading to these conditions.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support service connection for the claimed disabilities, including arthritis of the right shoulder, low back, cervical spine, and both knees. The gout of the right foot was not shown to be related to military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not timely perfect an appeal to the November 1993 rating decision regarding the issues of service connection for urinary tract infection and left hip pain. The claims are therefore denied as final.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for septic arthritis, eczema, actinic keratoses, ankle warts, chondromalacia of the knees, right elbow tendonitis, and right ear hearing loss are not well grounded. The service connection claims have been denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right knee, left hip, and asthma have been denied. His claim for increased evaluation for residuals of a right knee injury has been granted to 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining additional records. The claims for increased ratings and unemployability will be reevaluated based on all available evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and chronic lumbar syndrome, as well as initial compensable evaluations for chondromalacia patella of both knees. The 10 percent evaluation based on multiple, noncompensable, service-connected disabilities was confirmed.

The RO denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for the veteran's service-connected right knee disorder, which was increased to 20 percent in an August 1998 rating decision.

The Board found the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative disc disease of the low back, degenerative joint disease of the right knee, and degenerative joint disease of the left knee, secondary to a service-connected disability are well-grounded.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a right knee injury, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim.

The veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee injuries have been reopened due to new evidence. However, the claim remains denied as there is no direct evidence linking these conditions to service. The veteran's postoperative residuals of a left groin mass with scarring are not rated higher than noncompensable.

The Board found that the veteran's claim of CUE in the October 1996 rating decision was not sufficiently specific to raise a valid claim, thus denying his appeal.

The veteran's disabilities, including a total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, cervical spondylosis, degenerative arthritis of the knees, hemorrhoids, COPD, and glaucoma, meet the criteria for a combined rating of 70 percent. The veteran is therefore considered unemployable due to her disabilities.

The Board found that the appellant's service connection claim for bilateral knee disabilities is well-grounded due to her Persian Gulf War service, and granted service connection based on presumptive exposure.

The veteran's irritable bowel syndrome and arthritis of the right knee are both granted service connection as they are found to be related to his military service.

The veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is rated as noncompensable, and his combined service-connected disabilities are rated at 70 percent. The Board finds that the evidence supports a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the evidence did not establish a well-grounded claim for service connection of a right knee disorder as secondary to a service-connected left knee disorder.