Knee decisions — 2005

The Board found that the veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis, was not incurred in or aggravated by service and is not attributable to service. As a result, the claim for service connection for a right knee disability was denied.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's right and left knee disabilities, finding that they were aggravated by service from a pre-existing condition.

The veteran's appeals for service connection for right ankle and low back disabilities have been dismissed due to the veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of his claimed conditions.

The Board found that the veteran's claimed conditions were not related to his military service, including exposure to herbicides. The RO denied all issues on appeal.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and requests for additional information from various sources.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to insufficient evidence and needs further examination for PTSD, left knee degenerative arthritis, foot fungus, and back injury.

The Board has granted separate 10 percent evaluations for each knee based on limitation of motion and arthritis with periarticular pathology productive of painful motion. The preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the veteran's right and left knees have any more than slight instability, thus they are no more than 10 percent disabling based upon instability.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the current nature and etiology of the veteran's claimed left shoulder and bilateral knee conditions, including through VA orthopedic examination with appropriate diagnostic testing.

The Board has determined that the veteran's surviving spouse is in need of regular aid and attendance due to her physical limitations, including frequent falls and inability to care for herself without assistance.

The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's claimed bilateral knee disorder, an innocently acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), degenerative arthritis of the low back, and peptic ulcer disease. The right hand disorder is not currently addressed as it was withdrawn from consideration.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a lack of recent VA examination and testimony indicating increased impairment.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection for flat feet, headaches, right and left knee disorders, or a low back disorder. The claims are denied.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions and assigned noncompensable evaluations for the low back disability, but granted service connection for other conditions.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for right knee strain with degenerative changes secondary to left knee post operative residuals of lateral manisectomy. The claim is now reopened.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and reopening of a previously denied claim were denied. His left shoulder disability was rated at 10 percent, his right knee disorder at 10 percent, and the neck disability claim was not reopened.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to issues related to the evaluation of the veteran's left knee disability.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including hypertension, obesity, right hip disability, left hip disability, left foot disability, left knee disability, and left ankle disability. The effective date of a temporary total disability rating based on convalescence following VA hospitalization in November 1996 is also denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for his renal cyst, hemorrhoids, and scars. The evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for low back, left elbow, and bilateral knee disorders. The RO found no medical evidence suggesting these conditions originated in service or were otherwise causally related to his military service.