Knee decisions — 2005

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating for his left knee disability, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling.

The Board found no evidence of a left knee injury in service and concluded that the veteran's current posttraumatic arthritis is not related to his military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder, sinus disorder, right knee disorder, and neck disorder were denied. The Board is remanding the case to allow further development.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed right knee, left knee, and back disorders are not related to his active service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service injury or disease for any of these conditions.

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

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for swelling of his left arm, ankles, and knees, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by active service and is not etiologically related to service. The Board also found no evidence of arthritis within one year post-service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral arm disability, left knee disability, and hypertension. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected disabilities were denied. The RO found that the evidence did not support higher ratings for most conditions.

The veteran's bladder incontinence is found to be caused by his service-connected lumbar degenerative osteoarthritis with disc disease. The left knee arthritis and status post total arthroplasty are each rated at the maximum allowable under VA rating criteria.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee degenerative joint disease and left peroneal nerve injury, finding that these conditions are related to the veteran's in-service injuries.

The Board found that the veteran's eye disability and leg and knee disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service. The evidence did not show any chronic disability during service, nor was there a showing of continuity of symptomatology after service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for higher ratings for his service-connected scars, finding that neither version of the rating criteria is more beneficial to him and that the preponderance of the evidence is against each claim.

The Board found no evidence of a pre-existing left knee condition and concluded that any current left knee disorder did not originate in service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board found no evidence of a disability manifested by right knee pain or hearing loss during service, and the veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service. As such, the claims for service connection were denied.

The veteran requested to withdraw their appeal regarding the compensable rating for service-connected scar left knee, and as a result, the Board has dismissed the appeal.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his request for a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The issues of entitlement to service connection for left knee disability, right foot disability, and hearing loss disability remain under review.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's left and right knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on instability or loss of extension with degenerative changes.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his right and left knee disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran's asthma, left ankle disorder, and left knee disorder are not service-connected. However, his left ankle disorder was granted as a result of aggravation by a pre-existing condition during service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than September 1, 2001 for the grant of TDIU. The earliest date that it was first credibly shown that his service-connected disabilities alone were of such severity as to preclude substantially gainful employment was September 1, 2001.