Knee decisions — 2004

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board has remanded the case to the RO for further development due to issues related to service connection and the VCAA requirements.

The Board granted a 20 percent evaluation for the left knee disability from July 1, 1998. A separate 10 percent evaluation was granted for degenerative arthritis of the left knee.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a left wrist fracture are manifested by weakness and some limitation of motion, warranting a compensable evaluation. The other issues have been granted.

The veteran's claim for arthritis of the hands was denied as he does not have this condition.,Service connection was granted for post-operative residuals of a medial meniscal tear of the left knee with arthritis, and assigned a 10% evaluation effective October 1, 1994. The dorsal and lumbar spine disorder was recharacterized as arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with arthritis of the dorsal spine by x-ray evidence only, and assigned a 10% evaluation effective October 16, 1997.,Service connection for bronchial asthma was granted, and assigned a 30% rating effective October 1, 1994.

The veteran's claims for service connection for disorders of the knees and left hip are denied. The veteran's right foot disability is rated at 30 percent, while his left foot disability is also rated at 30 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and considering the veteran's entitlement to a temporary total rating.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination and readjudication of her claims.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for Osgood-Schlatter's disease of the left knee is being remanded due to a failure to inform him of provisions of the VCAA concerning his service connection claim.

The Board has granted an increased rating to 20 percent for the veteran's left knee disability, which was previously rated at 10 percent. The new evaluation is based on the current clinical findings and functional loss due to pain during flare-ups.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development to address the extent and degree of severity of his service-connected DJD of the left knee, postoperative. The issue of entitlement to a separate compensable evaluation for postoperative left knee scarring will also be considered.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee disorder was incurred in service, and his claim for an increased evaluation of low back strain with degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease L3-4, L4-5 is granted.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluation, service connection for flat feet, right knee strain, and hypertension were denied. The claim for service connection for flat feet was not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence. Service connection for hypertension was also denied as there is no evidence linking the condition to active service.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development, including scheduling VA examinations and readjudication of his claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability warrants a rating of 20 percent, based on limitation of motion and slight instability.

The Board found no evidence of a right knee disability during service and denied the veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development and requests that additional evidence be obtained before a decision can be made on the veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and low back disabilities.

The veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining employment information and VA records related to his cardiovascular disabilities.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's left ankle fracture and lateral instability of the left knee, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of September 1, 2001 for TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.