Knee decisions — 2000

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a certificate of eligibility for assistance in acquiring an automobile or other conveyance and specially adaptive equipment, as well as financial assistance in purchasing special adaptive housing. The appeals were dismissed due to the Court's remand order.

The Board has granted a 10 percent rating for lumbosacral strain, which is the maximum schedular evaluation available.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability and asthma, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claims.

The Board's decision in December 1988 was clearly erroneous as the evidence showed that the veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to work, and this should have been considered for a TDIU rating.

The veteran's effective date for additional compensation for a dependent spouse is set to August 27, 1993, with the commencement of payment on September 1, 1993. This decision grants his claim based on the criteria that the earliest possible effective date aligns with the date of his increased disability rating.

The veteran's appeal is dismissed as moot because the Board has already awarded an effective date of October 17, 1984 for the TDIU rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for right knee and hip disorders, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating or secondary service connection.

The veteran's left knee and right ankle disabilities are rated at their maximum allowable levels, with the left knee receiving a higher rating due to its more severe symptoms.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an effective date prior to November 9, 1998 and a higher disability evaluation for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the right knee.

The Board denied service connection for left foot and knee disabilities. The claim for new and material evidence regarding a gastric ulcer was submitted but not determined. Service connection for the laceration of the left hand with dermatitis is granted at 10%.

The veteran is individually unemployable due to his left knee disability, which has been rated at 50% disabling. The Board found that the veteran's service-connected left knee disability alone precludes him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability related to his service-connected shell fragment wound to the left forearm, and there is no evidence of a retained foreign body. The Board also found insufficient medical evidence to establish service connection for residuals of his left knee and right hip injuries.

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The RO granted service connection for PTSD, but denied the other issues on appeal.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for residuals of nasal fracture with deviated nasal septum, finding that the veteran was already assigned the highest schedular evaluation possible.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased ratings are not supported by the evidence of record and therefore, the current assigned disability ratings remain unchanged.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the increase in his left knee disability from no percent to 10 percent is granted. The effective date is set at June 17, 1997, which is the day following his separation from military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's left knee disability as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability and increased his evaluation for his right knee disability.

The Board found that the veteran's right and left knee disorders were not incurred in or aggravated during his active military service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder was denied in July 1997. The RO found no medical evidence linking the 1959 contusion to his current arthritis and knee replacement. New evidence submitted since then, including copies of the January 1959 DD Form 481-3 describing the veteran's left knee contusion during service, was not considered material as it did not provide new information that would change the outcome of the claim.