Knee decisions — 2006

The VA denied a higher rating for the veteran's right knee DJD, currently rated at 20 percent.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than January 22, 2001, for the award of service connection for a left knee disability.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection were denied. The initial evaluations assigned by the RO are maintained.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral degenerative joint disease of the knees is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities combine to a total rating of 70 percent, and he is unemployable due solely to his service-connected disabilities. Therefore, the Board has granted TDIU.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee disability and diabetes mellitus, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating based on the current level of disability.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his right knee disability. The RO will then readjudicate the claim based on de novo review.

The Board found that the veteran's pes planus pre-existed his entrance into both periods of active duty military service and did not increase in severity during either period. The claims for secondary service connection for back, bilateral hip, bilateral knee, and bilateral ankle conditions were denied as there was no legal basis to establish such connections.

The Board has remanded the case for a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. The veteran's claims of service connection and reopening of previously denied claims are pending.

The Board has remanded the case due to new evidence showing a left knee disorder and scheduled for surgery. The veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee disorder, claimed as secondary to a service-connected right knee disability, is on appeal.

The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and service connection were denied. The Board found that the March 1996 rating decision did not involve clear and unmistakable error.

The Board has granted service connection for a chronic right knee disability, degenerative joint disease. The low back disability is presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain additional VA records and schedule a VA examination for the right knee. The veteran's claim for increase in traumatic arthritis of the right knee is being addressed, with consideration given to whether separate ratings are warranted for limitation of flexion or extension.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative joint disease/degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine, left knee, and right knee were denied as he does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board has denied the appellant's service connection claims for left knee disorder, low back disability, gynecomastia, and liver disorder. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased ratings for her right and left knee disabilities are denied as there is no evidence of more than moderate instability or limitation of motion warranting a higher rating.

The veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for residuals of a right knee injury was granted, and his effective date for service connection was set at June 24, 1999. The Board found that the disability does not warrant a higher rating based on instability or subluxation.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of the veteran's service-connected right knee chondromalacia with degenerative arthritis and accounting for functional loss.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment, and thus denied his claim for TDIU.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for left knee injury and PTSD, finding no evidence of a link between these conditions and his military service.