Knee decisions — 2001

The Board found no evidence of a right knee disability during service or within one year after service, and concluded that the veteran's current right knee condition is not related to his military service.

The veteran's claims for chronic back pain, right knee trauma, and bilateral hip condition were denied. However, the effective date of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the left knee was granted as August 30, 2001, with a rating of 10%.

The veteran's service-connected left knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the clinical evidence.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection due to new and material evidence. It is found that his pre-existing bilateral pes planus was aggravated in service, warranting service connection.

The Board found that the interruption of vocational rehabilitation benefits was proper, but the discontinuance of these benefits was not. The veteran's case was placed in 'interrupted status' and then later in 'discontinued status'.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date was not valid, as his original claim of service connection for knee disabilities in 1994 had not been appealed within one year. The RO granted service connection and compensation for his knees on September 7, 2000, with payment effective October 1, 2000.

The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability is denied. The effective date remains June 11, 1999.

The Board granted a 20% evaluation for the veteran's right knee disorder, which was previously rated at 10%. The effective date remains January 5, 2000.

The Board has granted a disability evaluation of 30 percent for residuals of a gunshot wound to the left thigh with retained foreign bodies, and denied an increased rating for multiple scars on the right forearm.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and right and left knee disorders do not warrant an increased rating under the applicable criteria.

The veteran seeks an increased rating for his service-connected skin disease, classified as dermatitis of the left knee and crural area. The RO has not provided a VA examination since over a decade ago to assess the current severity of the condition. Additionally, there is no indication that any other skin disorder may be related to the service-connected skin disease.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. Service connection was not granted for left shoulder disorder, bilateral hip disorder, or tinnitus. The veteran's retropatellar pain syndrome of the knees is rated as noncompensable.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current chronic disabilities of the low back, penis, right knee or left knee. The claim for a higher rating for right corneal abrasion is also denied.

The Board has reopened the claim and granted service connection for a right knee disability, finding that the additional evidence is at least as likely as not related to service.

The veteran withdrew his claims for service connection for low back and left knee disorders, and the appeal as to an increased rating for PTSD is dismissed due to the grant of a 100 percent schedular rating.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's bilateral knee disorder, including whether it is related to service. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, but granted a 20 percent rating for his lumbosacral strain.

The Board has granted service connection for a patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee and assigned a 10 percent rating for residuals of a fracture of the right ankle.

The Board finds that the veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his right knee disability and peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity, result in such loss of feeling, strength, and coordination of the right lower extremity that they are equivalent to permanent loss of use of the right foot. As a result, the veteran is entitled to specially adapted automobile or adaptive equipment.