Knee decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current foot condition was aggravated by his active duty service.

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

The veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, right shoulder degenerative changes, right knee retropatellar pain syndrome, and lumbosacral spine strain have been granted. The effective dates for these grants are October 25, 2002, June 7, 2003, and June 7, 2003, respectively.,The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD remains pending.

The veteran is seeking an increased disability rating for his service-connected left knee disorder with degenerative changes. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical evidence and conduct further examinations to determine the current severity of the condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected chondromalacia, left knee, and residuals of injury to right ankle do not warrant an increased rating as their current manifestations are within the scope of the currently assigned ratings.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a determination on severing service connection for joint pain due to an undiagnosed illness. The veteran's claim for an increased rating remains pending.

The Board has granted a temporary total rating for convalescence following March 8, 2004 surgery for the veteran's service connected right knee disability. The issue of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for the right knee disability is addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.

The Board denied a compensable rating for left knee disability rated as instability (associated with chondromalacia patella) due to the lack of recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to procedural deficiencies and the need for additional examinations.

The Board denied service connection for hip, knee, and ankle disabilities because the evidence did not show that the injuries were incurred in the line of duty.

The Board found that the veteran does not have current disabilities related to his service, and therefore denied all of his claims for service connection.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain his service medical records from a period of duty reported in July 1990 to August 1991. The RO must attempt to locate these records and provide an opportunity for the veteran to respond.

The Board found that the veteran's currently diagnosed bilateral DJD of the knees is unrelated to his military service, including an episode of rheumatic fever in July and August 1959.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee and low back pain with history of old injury and osteoarthritic changes of L4-5 were denied as his conditions did not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities are currently in appellate status, but the case is being remanded due to missing records and need for a VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability and an initial evaluation of 10 percent for right patella chondromalacia. The hearing loss issue is not addressed as it was previously denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for degenerative changes at C3-C4 and bilateral knee disorder, as well as her requests for increased ratings for other service-connected disabilities. The reasons include lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or intercurrent causes, failure to attend scheduled VA examinations, and absence of medical evidence showing current disability.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination and consideration of the new evidence. The case will be returned to the Board after further action.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining new evidence and scheduling a VA examination.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for right knee arthritis and residuals of a cerebral vascular accident were denied by the Board. The RO has awarded service connection for diabetes mellitus, but this does not affect the TDIU claim.