Knee decisions — 2008

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to the claimed conditions, and there was insufficient evidence linking any diagnosed conditions to service or herbicide exposure.

The Board has determined that a VA examination and medical opinion are necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral knee disorder. The case is therefore being remanded for these purposes.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical opinions and records in order to determine if the veteran's current bilateral knee disorder is related to his service-connected left ankle disability.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining post-service VA treatment records and providing VCAA notice.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a left hand disability, bilateral knee disability, and bilateral hearing loss. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to active duty service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current right knee disabilities, including a displaced bucket handle tear of the right medial meniscus and chondromalacia, were incurred in service. As such, the claim for service connection is granted.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate reasons and bases in its denial of the veteran's increased rating claim, specifically addressing private medical evidence dated in August 2005 which provided a more dire prognosis regarding knee pain.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased disability ratings for his left and right knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on current symptoms.

The Board has granted an initial rating of 60 percent for the veteran's low back disability effective from July 17, 1997. The claim for a higher rating for his left knee disability is addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral knee disorder was not incurred or aggravated by service and is not related to service. The claim for service connection is denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination to determine if he suffers from a 'loss of use' of one or both lower extremities, which could affect his eligibility for specially adapted housing and adaptive equipment benefits. The RO/AMC will then readjudicate the claims based on this new information.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for postoperative residuals of a right knee osteochondroma, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for an effective date prior to July 17, 2003, for the grant of service connection for a postoperative scar was also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a bone spur, right heel. However, the veteran's claim for service connection for left knee disability is denied as there is no current diagnosis of such condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to increased ratings for his service-connected knee conditions, pancreas condition, diabetes mellitus, low back condition, kidney condition, prostate condition, neck condition, left wrist condition, right wrist condition, colon/intestine condition, and left hip condition. The veteran was also denied service connection for a bladder condition and a stomach disorder.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted since the September 2002 rating decision is not new and material, thus denying the veteran's request to reopen her claim for service connection for a left knee impairment.

The Board found that the veteran's multiple sclerosis was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and denied his claim. The left knee disorder issue is also denied.

The veteran is seeking higher initial evaluations for her service-connected left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and lumbar strain. The case must be remanded to obtain additional medical records from private physicians and the VA Medical Center.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed because he did not file a timely and adequate substantive appeal on the issues of increased disability ratings for chondromalacia of the left and right knees, or entitlement to an effective date prior to September 20, 2005, for the grant of 10 percent disability ratings for these conditions.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee disabilities, finding that his current left and right knee disabilities were not related to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral knee disorder did not have onset during active service and is not etiologically related to active service. The appeal was denied.