Knee decisions — 2001

The Board has determined that the motor vehicle accident of October 21, 1990, occurred in the line of duty and service connection is granted for disabilities resulting from this accident. The veteran's hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The veteran's claims for higher evaluations of his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities have been granted, with each knee rated at 20 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee disability, which includes postoperative residuals and chondromalacia, is productive of painful motion and functional impairment that equates to limitation of motion compensated by a 20 percent rating. The veteran does not experience lateral instability or subluxation.

The veteran's appeal is about his left knee disability and he contends that it is more disabling than currently evaluated. The Board has ordered an additional VA orthopedic examination to obtain clinical findings as to the extent of functional loss attributable to such factors limited or excess movement, pain, weakness, excess fatigability, or incoordination.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have a right knee disorder, hearing loss, or tinnitus that is related to his military service.,There are no references to these conditions in the service medical records.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected conditions have been denied as the current ratings are considered to be in effect for more than 20 years and will not be reduced without a showing of fraud. The criteria for higher ratings under the applicable diagnostic codes do not meet the requirements.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his status post left knee internal derangement and migraine headache, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, traumatic arthritis of the left hip, traumatic arthritis of the left knee, and a left scapula fracture. The disability ratings were assigned effective from November 13, 1996, to October 31, 1999, and higher than 10 percent from November 1, 1999, forward.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder, finding that there was no evidence of any treatment or diagnosis related to this injury during his active military service. The Board concluded that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim and thus denied it.

The veteran seeks an increased evaluation for his service-connected right knee disability. The RO should consider whether staged ratings are warranted and review the claims file to ensure all notification and development action required by the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 is completed.

The veteran's secondary service connection claims for left foot, ankle, knee, hip, lumbosacral spine, and lower pelvic region conditions were denied as they are not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right leg disabilities.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability. The Board also found that the veteran incurred a right knee disability during active service, leading to an initial evaluation of 50 percent for PTSD.

The Board has determined that the RO's decision to deny increased evaluations for the veteran's service-connected knee disabilities is not supported by the evidence of record and remanded the case for additional development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee disability was incurred during active duty and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has reopened the claim and determined that new evidence supports a finding that the veteran's right knee disorder is related to his service-connected left knee disability, warranting secondary service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for bilateral pes planus, knee disorder, hip disorder, and back disorder. The evidence did not support a higher rating for the veteran's bilateral pes planus.

The VA denied increased evaluations for osteoarthritis of the right and left knees, currently rated at 20 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability, including degenerative joint disease and a total knee replacement, is at least as likely as not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has granted the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral ankle disorder secondary to service-connected pes planus, but denied his claims for service connection for bilateral knee disorders.

The Board found that the August 1991 rating decision denying TDIU did not contain clear and unmistakable error. The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied as there was no evidence showing he was unemployable due to service-connected disabilities prior to July 1, 1994.