Knee decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the case for additional development and/or notification, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and St. Vincent's hospital treatment records.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a left knee disability due to disease or injury incurred in service. The claim for service connection is denied.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional medical records and information from Social Security Administration.

The veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and therefore DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 is denied.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed because her substantive appeal to the April 2003 rating decision, which granted a 20 percent evaluation for osteoarthropathy and chondromalacia with subluxable patella of the right knee, was not timely filed.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling VA examinations and obtaining a supplemental statement of the case.

The veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for his left knee injury was denied, and the Board has ordered that the RO re-adjudicate whether to assign a separate rating for any scar or muscle damage. The case is now remanded.

The veteran's service-connected bilateral knee arthritis is found to cause a loss of use of his lower extremities, warranting the grant of automotive or adaptive equipment.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA decision and relevant supporting documents.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right and left knee disabilities are not related to his military service, as there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to any in-service injury or event.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for evaluations in excess of 30 percent for residuals of left total knee replacement and traumatic rupture right medial meniscus with total knee replacement, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation based on functional loss or other factors.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection of PTSD, a psychiatric disability other than PTSD, a bilateral knee condition, a thyroid condition, and hypertension. The evidence did not support these claims.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, which he claimed was secondary to his already-service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral pes cavus, right knee degenerative joint disease, and a back disorder. The evidence submitted since the last final denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's residuals of left knee injury with degenerative arthritis have not met the criteria for a higher initial disability rating, and thus denied his claim.

The veteran's left knee disorder was previously rated at 10 percent prior to September 7, 2005. After a subsequent rating decision in 2006, he received a 30 percent disability rating from that date onward.

The veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for his left knee disability, fractures of the first proximal phalanx and skull, and scars on his forehead and chin have been denied as there is no indication that these conditions are service-connected. The RO has not assigned a compensable evaluation to any of these disabilities.

The veteran's left knee is rated at 50 percent for fusion with shortening, and a separate 20 percent rating is assigned for arterial occlusive disease. The issues of service connection for cervical spine disc disease and right knee cyst/meniscal tear are addressed in the REMAND portion.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee injury does not meet the criteria for an increased evaluation, as there is no evidence of instability or arthritis related to the inservice injury.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the right shoulder, right knee, and left knee as there is no evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated during his military service.