Knee decisions — 2003

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the appellant for a VA examination to assess his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board determined that the appellant does not have a right knee disability due to disease or injury incurred in service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability, including degenerative joint disease, is being remanded due to the need for additional development and consideration of new evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disability secondary to multiple service-connected disabilities, finding no medical evidence linking the disability to any of his service-connected conditions.

The Board found that the veteran does not have a diagnosed headache disability distinct from his service-connected cervical spine muscle spasms, and thus denied the claim of service connection for headaches.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left below-the-knee amputation is a residual of his service-connected frostbite residuals of both feet, and therefore secondary to those disabilities. The claim for an increased rating for frostbite residuals of both feet remains pending.

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 found that the veteran's service-connected conditions, including left shoulder and knee disabilities, were not incurred or aggravated by his military service. The right shoulder condition is currently rated as noncompensably disabling.

The VA denied an increased evaluation for the veteran's service-connected right knee disability, which is currently rated as 20 percent disabling.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral knee disability, multiple allergies, and hearing loss disabilities. The appeals were not perfected due to lack of a timely substantive appeal.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for the veteran's residuals of a fracture of the left ankle with shortening of the leg, which is currently rated as 20 percent disabling.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have tinnitus due to service, and his left knee and right ankle disabilities do not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent. The low back disability also does not meet the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current left knee disability is related to his inservice injury, and thus grants service connection for post-traumatic degenerative arthritis with some deformity and limitation of motion of the left knee.

The Board found that the appellant does not have a right wrist or right knee disability and denied his claims for service connection.

The veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his service-connected post traumatic stress disorder, chondromalacia of the right knee, residuals of a fracture of the first right toe and residual injury to the second right toe, and musculoskeletal low back pain have been denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for low back disability and bilateral knee disabilities secondary to residuals of left ankle sprain, as well as his claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected left knee disorder is being remanded due to the need for a new medical examination and specific VCAA notice.

The Board has granted the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for right and left knee disabilities, but assigned zero percent (non-compensable) evaluations.

The Board has awarded service connection for a cervical spine disability. The remaining service connection issues will be remanded to the RO for further development, including consideration of additional evidence and clarification of representation.

The Board granted service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left knee and peripheral vascular disease of the left leg status post femoral-posterior tibial artery bypass graft, both effective September 13, 2000.