Knee decisions — 2002

The Board denied the veteran's claims for reopening service connection for PTSD, bilateral knee disorders, hearing loss, excessive sweating, bursitis of the left hip, and loss of memory due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board denied increased evaluations for the veteran's left and right knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not warrant an increase in either evaluation.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection and increased disability ratings for his right knee and shoulder disorders.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's right knee patellofemoral syndrome, finding that his disability did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The veteran's claim for vocational rehabilitation benefits was denied due to his recent employment termination, which the RO determined was not related to his service-connected disabilities. The case is being remanded for further development and consideration.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee disabilities were present at the time of his induction into active duty and were aggravated by service. As such, service connection for these disabilities is granted.

The Board has granted a 10% rating for right knee instability and a separate 10% rating for degenerative changes in the right knee, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran did not present new and material evidence to reopen his claim for service connection for a left knee disorder, resulting in denial of the appeal.

The RO denied increased evaluations for the veteran's right and left knee disorders, as well as earlier effective dates for these evaluations.,The veteran appealed the decision, but the Board found that the criteria for increased evaluations were not met.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his service-connected right knee disorder and arthritis, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for a left knee injury. The medical evidence supports a finding that the current left knee condition is related to an in-service injury, thus granting service connection.

The Board has granted increased evaluations for the veteran's right and left knee disabilities, but denied service connection for a low back disability and depression as secondary to her bilateral knee disorders.

The veteran's appeal is about the evaluation of his postoperative arthrotomy, right knee. The RO has scheduled a videoconference hearing for him to discuss this issue.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected left knee injury, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher evaluation.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, as his conditions do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The veteran's initial ratings for arthritis of the knees and urinary stress incontinence post bladder repair have been granted. The knee conditions are rated at 20% each, while the urinary condition remains noncompensable.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for lung disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and back disability due to lack of threshold eligibility for VA pension benefits.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication, including obtaining additional medical evidence and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the right knee disability, which was currently rated as 20 percent disabling.

The veteran's left knee disability, including post-operative residuals and arthritic changes, is currently rated at 20 percent. The issues of increased rating for the residuals and initial evaluation higher than 10 percent for arthritic changes have been addressed. The claim to reopen his right knee disorder secondary to a service-connected left knee disability has also been considered.