Knee decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disability is not related to his military service and denied the claim for service connection.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and readjudicating the claims based on de novo review of the record.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his left knee instability and degenerative joint disease, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to incomplete medical records and the need for additional examinations.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings for his bilateral knee disability and fractures to his metacarpals, finding no evidence of a nexus between current disabilities and service.

The RO granted the veteran's claims for service-connected disabilities, including left knee arthritis and left ankle arthritis, but did not grant any higher ratings. The effective date of these decisions is March 1, 2003.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a left knee disability secondary to a service-connected left ankle disability. The September 2001 rating decision denying this claim is final.

The VA determined that the veteran's left knee disability, characterized by residual chondromalacia and degenerative arthritis, warrants a 10 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 5010. The disability is currently rated as 10 percent disabling.

The veteran's application for specially adapted housing or a certificate of eligibility for a special home adaptation grant due to service-connected bilateral knee disabilities is being remanded for further development and evaluation.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and readjudicating the claims of service connection for asthma and right knee disorder.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete records and the need for additional development.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability did not warrant a higher rating prior to August 16, 2006 and from August 16, 2006 to December 25, 2006.

The March 2005 correspondence constituted a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the May 1971 rating decision which denied service connection for arthritis of the knees and back. Service connection was subsequently granted, effective October 2003.

The veteran is seeking service connection for a below-the-knee amputation of the left lower extremity. The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VCAA notice and needs additional evidence regarding injuries sustained during his in-service accident.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for postoperative residuals of a left knee and osteoarthritis of the right knee, finding no current disability or evidence linking these conditions to service.

The veteran's appeal of service connection for a low back disability has been withdrawn. The claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA examination reports and treatment records. The case will be reconsidered with consideration of all applicable criteria, including extraschedular ratings if warranted.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, diabetes mellitus, a gunshot wound to the left knee, residuals of open heart surgery with titanium plates, and bilateral hearing loss. The veteran's claims were based on his claimed in-service stressors as a POW in North Korea, but there was no credible evidence supporting these claims.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for additional development due to the need for a VA examination and issuance of a statement of the case.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for his left knee disability and for TDIU, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating or TDIU.