Knee decisions — 2004

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for additional development and consideration of his claims, including new evidence submitted since the most recent supplemental statement of the case.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining SSA records, private medical records, and clarifying whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen claims for service connection. The veteran is also asked to provide more details about his claimed PTSD stressors.

The case is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA joints examination. The veteran's increased rating claim for his left knee disability will be reconsidered after these actions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right knee and right ankle disabilities were not caused by or permanently worsened by his service-connected right shoulder disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and records.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current arthritic changes in his left knee are due to an increase in severity of a pre-existing condition during service, and thus service connection is granted for this disability at a 20 percent level.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability does not warrant a compensable evaluation, as it demonstrated full range of motion and no significant symptoms or impairment.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability, manifested by tendonitis and mild degenerative joint disease, did not warrant a higher initial rating than 10 percent.

The veteran's claims seeking initial compensable evaluations for his chronic right and left ankle strain, as well as his chronic right and left knee strain, were denied due to an outstanding felony warrant for the veteran's arrest in California.

The Board has denied the reopening of claims for secondary service connection for low back and right knee disabilities, as new and material evidence was not received. The claim for increased rating for left knee replacement disability is also denied.

The veteran's claim for a higher initial evaluation for left knee strain with arthritis was denied. The claim for an increased evaluation for his low back disability, currently rated at 40 percent, is pending.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, lumbar spine with bilateral lower leg disorder including pain and numbness, osteoarthritis of the left knee, generalized weakness of the body, and leg numbness.,Service connection was not established for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disorder, including patellofemoral syndrome, began during active service and is therefore granted service connection.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his right knee disabilities and a total rating based on individual unemployability due to incomplete information from the RO.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability and determine if separate ratings are warranted.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected residual laceration scar of the right knee does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Board has determined that the veteran's appeal was timely filed for his claim of an increased rating for hypothyroidism, but not for service connection claims. The decision also granted a 30% evaluation for hypothyroidism effective from June 2002.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for low back pain, left ankle sprain, and hearing loss. The veteran did not have a current disability for these conditions as determined by VA examination and medical records.

The veteran's service-connected right knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating of 20 percent is warranted based on his symptoms and clinical findings.

The veteran's right knee disabilities, including post-operative residuals of a torn right lateral meniscus and degenerative joint disease, are currently rated at 20 percent for the former and 10 percent for the latter. The RO has granted service connection for both conditions.