Knee decisions — 2007

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral knee disorder and a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The Board found that there was no evidence of chronic right or left knee disability in service, and that any current knee disability is less likely as not related to service. For his psychiatric disorder claim, the Board determined that there was insufficient verified stressor events in service to support a diagnosis of PTSD, and thus denied both claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability was aggravated by his military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee and right hip disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation under applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board denied service connection for depression, degenerative changes of the right knee, and chondromalacia patella of the left knee. The veteran's claims were not supported by medical evidence linking these conditions to her military service or a service-connected condition.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including heart disorders and shell fragment wounds to his back. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service.

The veteran's claim of service connection for a right knee condition was denied in February 2000 due to the absence of new and material evidence, and the RO considered whether the preexisting condition had been aggravated during service. The appeal of this decision is dismissed as there is no clear and unmistakable error.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and a bilateral foot disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling an examination.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability was not incurred or aggravated during his active duty service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's right and left knee chondromalacia disabilities have been granted with a 10% evaluation each, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for degenerative joint disease of the left knee and tendonitis of the left hip, as these conditions do not more nearly approximate the criteria for a higher rating under applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for generalized arthritis, claiming it as arms and legs, to include as secondary to service-connected arthritis of the lumbar and cervical spine. The evidence does not support a finding that the arthritis is related to service or service-connected disability.

The veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issues of service connection for left and right knee arthritis, claiming these conditions as secondary to service-connected disabilities involving fractures of the tibia and fibula.

The veteran's bilateral knee disability is not manifested by limitation of flexion to less than 140 degrees, limitation of extension to more than 0 degrees, ankylosis, instability, genu recurvatum, malunion with moderate knee disability, or cartilage abnormality. Therefore, the claims for a compensable rating prior to April 22, 2004, and a rating in excess of 10 percent from April 22, 2004, forward, for both knees are denied.

The Board found that the veteran did not have an additional disability of the right knee due to VA's failure to timely diagnose and treat his right knee condition. The examiner opined that it was speculative whether the delay in diagnosis caused additional disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that his conditions did not meet the criteria for higher disability evaluations or service connection under the applicable rating criteria.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a current VA examination and additional records from the Winn Army Community Hospital. The issues are seeking increased ratings for his service-connected right knee disabilities.

The veteran's left knee disorder is currently rated at 10 percent, but the claim for an increased rating was denied. The right knee disorder claim was also denied as there is no evidence of a current right knee disability causally related to service.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examinations to determine the current severity of his service-connected neck disorder, left knee disability, and bilateral hearing loss.

The veteran's appeal of the initial disability evaluation for degenerative joint disease of the left knee is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC.,The claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no legal basis for a higher evaluation.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, specifically including his PTSD, are found to be of such severity as to preclude him from obtaining or retaining substantially gainful employment.