Knee decisions — 2008

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disorder is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran withdrew his appeal prior to the Board's decision.

The veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a service-connected disability. The requirements for dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 have not been met, and the criteria for dependents' educational assistance have also not been met.

The Board granted the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that his right ankle disability warranted a 20% rating. Service connection was also established for degenerative arthritis of the right hip as secondary to his service-connected right ankle disability, but not for a right knee disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected knee disabilities do not preclude substantially gainful employment, and thus does not meet the criteria for a TDIU.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability as secondary to his service-connected left patella chondromalacia due to lack of current evidence and failure to establish a medical nexus.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee, low back, and right shoulder disabilities. The veteran's complaints of pain in these areas during active duty have been confirmed by medical examinations post-service.

The veteran's knee and ankle conditions are being remanded for further evaluation as they may be related to his service-connected back disability.

The veteran is seeking service connection for degenerative arthritis of the right hip and left knee. The case has been remanded due to incomplete records, including a missing report from Dr. Thompson.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability, right knee disability (claimed as secondary to a service-connected left knee disability), carpal tunnel syndrome, and psychiatric disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left knee disorder and bilateral ankle disorder are caused or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disorder, warranting service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for right shoulder disability as not proximately due to or the result of a service-connected condition. The Board also did not address service connection for bilateral arm disability, and found that the veteran's claim was 'unknown' regarding this issue. The Board granted restoration of a 10% rating for recurrent dislocation of the left knee but denied an increased rating.

The veteran's claim for higher ratings for his left knee disability was denied. He is currently rated at 20% for the period from February 23, 2000 to August 26, 2005 and granted a separate 10% evaluation for arthritis with limitation of extension as of August 26, 2005.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability as secondary to his service-connected low back and right knee conditions, finding that there was no evidence supporting this theory.

The veteran's right knee disability is not productive of limitation of motion, moderate recurrent subluxation or lateral instability, or ankylosis. Therefore, the claim for a higher rating for his service-connected right knee disability is denied.

The Board has dismissed the appellant's appeals regarding his claims for service connection due to lack of timely filing of substantive appeals. The issues concerning PTSD have been remanded for further development.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability warranted no more than a 10 percent rating, as it did not meet criteria for higher ratings based on functional impairment or limitation of motion.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of current right hip, knee, or leg disabilities. Therefore, the veteran's claims for service connection are denied.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly address the appellant's claims for service connection. This includes providing proper VCAA notice, obtaining relevant medical records, clarifying the meaning of annotations on VA documents, and scheduling examinations to assess the nature and etiology of his claimed conditions.