Knee decisions — 2008

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of his claimed conditions.

The Board denied an increased rating for left knee instability, a separate compensable disability rating for left knee surgical scars, and a separate 10 percent rating for arthritis with pain on motion of the left knee. The veteran's current 20 percent evaluation for left knee instability is maintained.

The Board has granted a 10 percent disability rating for the veteran's left knee disorder, which is secondary to his service-connected right knee disorder.

The Board found that the RO's calculation of the veteran's combined rating of 70 percent was correct in the January 2006 decision and he was paid at the 70 percent rate. Therefore, the appeal is denied.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of various service-connected disabilities were denied by the Board. The appeals are not about service connection, but rather about the appropriate disability ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee disability warrants a compensable rating of 10 percent, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service and denied his claim. The right knee disability is also not considered to be related to service.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional medical records and a new opinion regarding whether the veteran's left knee disability is related to his service, specifically the November 19, 1992 incident.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development and consideration of his claims for service connection for heart disease and an increased evaluation for his left knee disability.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left knee instability and right knee chondromalacia, as well as his petition to reopen a previously denied claim of service connection for a back disability. The decision also noted that there was no evidence of new and material evidence received.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if any current left knee disorder is related to service or secondary to the veteran's service-connected right knee injury.

The veteran's chronic lumbrosacral strain myostitis, major depression, diabetes mellitus type II (DM), status post left wrist fracture, status post right wrist facture, and left knee osteoarthritis prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted service connection for left wrist tendonitis and left ankle disability, but denied service connection for right hand condition, right ankle condition (undiagnosed illness), bilateral knee osteoarthritis, and bilateral hip or foot conditions.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for a higher initial evaluation of his osteoarthritis of the left knee, residuals of a left upper one-third tibial stress fracture, as there is no evidence of malunion of the tibia and fibula with moderate knee or ankle disability.

The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise showing that the current left knee disability, including degenerative joint disease, is associated with a left knee injury during service as described by the veteran. Therefore, service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board has granted service connection for right knee arthritis, but denied service connection for left hip and low back disabilities as secondary to the veteran's service-connected left knee disability.

The Board found no evidence of a pre-existing left knee disorder that was aggravated by service, and concluded there is no current right knee disorder. Therefore, the veteran's claims for service connection were denied.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and bilateral knee disability due to lack of current clinical evidence supporting these conditions.

The VA has determined that the veteran's lower back, right knee, and left knee disabilities do not warrant increased disability ratings beyond their current 20%, 10%, and 10% evaluations respectively.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for right knee lateral instability and traumatic arthritis, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on either instability or limitation of motion.