Knee decisions — 2005

The Board has remanded the case for a Travel Board hearing at the RO in Montgomery, Alabama. The appeal involves multiple conditions and evaluations related to PTSD, headaches, duodenal ulcer, scars, tinnitus, and arthritis.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disorder was not incurred in service and is not otherwise related to service. As a result, the claim for service connection for a left knee disorder is denied.

The veteran's asthma and bilateral knee disabilities are being remanded for additional development, including obtaining the VA examination report from January 2003 and arranging for a new VA examination to assess his current disability levels.

The Board has restored service connection for peripheral neuropathy, which was previously severed due to the veteran's diabetes mellitus. The issues of increased evaluations for knee disabilities and hearing loss remain pending.

The Board has dismissed the veteran's appeals on these issues as he did not file a timely substantive appeal within one year of the March 1996 rating decision.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a chronic back disorder, left ankle injury, and acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to active or inactive duty reserve service.

The Board found that the veteran's current right knee, left knee, and low back disabilities are not related to his military service. As a result, he cannot establish service connection for these conditions.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and a lumbar spine disability. The issues of entitlement to an increased rating for kidney stones and traumatic arthritis of the right shoulder are remanded.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased ratings for her service-connected right and left knee disabilities due to incomplete development of evidence.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left and right knee disabilities have been denied as there is no evidence showing that either condition warrants a higher rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a left knee injury and for evaluation of iliac spine fracture, finding that there was no evidence of such injuries or disabilities in service. The claim for an increased rating for iliac spine fracture is also denied.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause his death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of the veteran's left knee disability. The veteran is also advised that he may be eligible for separate ratings under Diagnostic Code 5257 if there is X-ray evidence of arthritis in addition to recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for increased ratings for DJD of his left and right knees due to incomplete development, including a need for updated treatment records and VA examinations.

The veteran's service-connected right knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds no basis for granting a higher rating.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected right and left knee chondromalacia did not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, as there was no arthritis or subluxation, and the overall degree of disability was slight.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability.,The RO granted service connection for diabetes and assigned a 20 percent evaluation, effective November 27, 2000. The veteran appealed this decision.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected left shoulder, right shoulder, left knee, and right knee disabilities were denied. The RO found that the evidence did not support an increase in disability ratings beyond 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of the veteran's service-connected residuals of a compound fracture of the left femur with internal derangement of the left knee and consideration of separate ratings if warranted. The issue remains on appeal as entitlement to an increased rating.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical records and examination.