Knee decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability, which required a total replacement surgery, was aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability. As such, the claim for secondary service connection is granted.

The veteran's right knee injury residuals are manifested by some limitation of motion, pain on motion, mild swelling and enlargement of the knee, tenderness over the patellofemoral joint, no instability, normal x-ray findings, slight quadriceps weakness and atrophy. He is currently rated 10 percent for this condition.,The veteran's left knee injury residuals are manifested by some limitation of motion, pain on motion, no pain but crepitation on motion, tenderness over the patellofemoral joint, no instability, normal x-ray findings, and a positive patellar grind test. He is currently rated 10 percent for this condition.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a right knee disorder and denied it. The veteran's left knee disorder and left ear hearing loss are not service-connected. A noncompensable rating is assigned for the veteran's left ear hearing loss.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and temporary total convalescent benefits for his right knee disability. The RO will conduct further development as requested, including obtaining medical records from private providers and agencies, before readjudicating the claims.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right and left knee disabilities are service-connected.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of July 19, 2000 for a 20 percent rating for her service-connected left knee disability. The Board found that there was no evidence showing an increase in disability within one year prior to July 19, 2000.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, left knee instability, and muscle group I wound. The conditions are not shown to warrant higher disability evaluations.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral athlete's foot and left knee disability, with a rating of 10 percent for tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee disability, characterized by calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease and degenerative joint disease, does not warrant a higher rating than the current 20 percent assigned.

The veteran was granted service connection for disabilities of the left knee and lumbosacral spine as secondary to his right knee disability, effective March 9, 1999.

The Board has granted service connection for muscle strains of the left knee and lumbosacral spine, with a 10% evaluation assigned since November 29, 2000.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability was not caused or chronically worsened by his service-connected right knee disability and denied the claim.

The veteran's right knee arthritis and instability are currently rated at 10 percent each, with the arthritis having mild degenerative changes and persistent pain. The Board has granted an increased rating for both conditions.

The veteran's claimed conditions, including degenerative joint disease of the knees and right shoulder, gastroesophageal reflux, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, were not shown to be related to active or reserve service. The Board denied these claims.

The Board found that the veteran's current left knee disorder, which includes arthritis, was not incurred in or aggravated during his active military service or active duty for training.

The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral knee disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Board found no current right shoulder, left knee, left femur disorders or left thigh osteomyelitis that are proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by a service-connected disability. The appellant's currently diagnosed conditions were not related to his service-connected left arm disability.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for left knee degenerative joint disease, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated during her military service and is unrelated to any incident of service origin.