Knee decisions — 2002

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral knee conditions and entitlement to an increased rating for her service-connected bilateral pes cavus. The RO found no medical evidence linking any current knee condition or disability to active duty service, nor did it find a nexus between her service-connected pes cavus and her knees.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's right knee disorder and found that his low back disability is not secondary to his service-connected right knee condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for his back disorder and increased evaluations for his right and left knee disorders. The appeals were not about service connection at all.

The VA has granted service connection for the veteran's disabilities and assigned a 20 percent evaluation for residuals of a shell fragment wound of the mid chest with retained foreign bodies. The other issues have been denied.

The Board found that the veteran does not currently suffer from conjunctivitis or a left knee disorder, and any such disorders are not shown to be causally related to his service. As such, the claims for service connection were denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral minimal degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee joints and assigned a 10 percent evaluation, finding that the veteran's right and left knees have limited flexion with positive crepitance and subjective complaints of pain.

The Board denied increased evaluations for the veteran's knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support ratings higher than the current 10 percent evaluations.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of PTSD, left knee disability, tremors and numbness of the hands and arms, low back disability, or disability of the hips/legs. The claims are denied as service connection is not warranted for these conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for a left knee condition under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.

The Board found that the veteran's preexisting left knee disability did not worsen during service and denied service connection for a left knee disability.

The veteran's claimed conditions, including skin cancer, cancer of the cranium, a left eye cataract, blood clots to the left leg resulting in amputation below the knee, a right hip disorder, and arthritis, were not incurred or aggravated by active service. The appeal is denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection for eye disorders, bilateral ptosis, residuals from bacteria after placement of an IUD, premenstrual dysphoria disorder (claimed as depression), and a bilateral knee disorder have all been denied. The denial is based on the lack of evidence linking these conditions to active service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee impairment warrants a rating of 10 percent, effective from January 1997.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability was not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected right knee, low back, and/or left hip disabilities. The right knee disability is currently evaluated at 10 percent, while the low back disability is now rated at 60 percent.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant prior to a decision being made.

The Board has granted an effective date of February 26, 1999 for the assignment of a 50 percent rating for service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has granted a 20% rating for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and internal derangement of the right knee, effective from the date of the June 1993 rating decision. The veteran is not entitled to an increased rating for either condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee and pes planus disabilities did not increase in severity during service, and his respiratory disability was not incurred or aggravated by service. As a result, these claims are denied.

The veteran's increased ratings for his left and right knee disabilities have been granted, with the effective dates being November 1996 and September 2000 respectively.