Knee decisions — 2008

The Board found that the veteran's right knee and low back disabilities were not incurred in service, and his acquired psychiatric disorder was not incurred within one year of discharge. The claims for these conditions were therefore denied.

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

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current diagnoses of right arm, right leg, or right knee disabilities. The residuals of an injury to the right knee were not shown during service and are not presumed due to exposure to Agent Orange or other environmental factors. Service connection is denied for all issues.

The veteran's application for nonservice connected pension benefits was granted as of June 18, 2002 due to his inability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to multiple disabilities. The effective date cannot be earlier than this date.

The Board found that the veteran's medial meniscus tear of the right knee and herniated disc at the L5-S1 level are not related to his military service or a service-connected disability, thus denying both claims for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected low back pain with history of frequent spasms was increased to a 20 percent rating effective December 17, 2007. His right and left knee chondromalacia patella conditions were also rated at 10 percent each.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a left knee disability and granted service connection on a secondary basis. The bilateral hip disability is not related to service or any service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current right knee disorder and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability. The VA will now proceed with an examination to determine if any current knee disability is related to military service.

The Board found that the veteran's right knee disability is not service-connected and denied his claim.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for left carpal tunnel syndrome, left shoulder disability, and left knee disability. The claim for a residual disability due to renal calculi was not reopened as new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.

The veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found no evidence of current ankle disabilities, and the low back disability was rated at 10%.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current knee conditions are related to service, and thus grants service connection for left knee osteoarthritis and right knee osteoarthritis.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for proper notification regarding his claim of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral knee disorder. The RO will provide him with a proper notification letter and conduct any additional development as needed.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to missing VA medical records and Social Security Administration disability determination.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for a left knee disability, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current left knee disorder and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board found no evidence of a low back, right knee, or left knee disability during service and denied the veteran's claims for service connection.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations for costochondritis, right knee disability, and left knee disability have been denied as his conditions do not warrant higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to the need for updated VA treatment records, particularly those from Dr. B. at the Tuskegee VA facility.