Knee decisions — 2008

The Board has granted service connection for a left knee disability, finding that the veteran's current condition is related to his active military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not related to her service and therefore denied her claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection of a bilateral knee disability as secondary to his service-connected left foot condition.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right elbow and right knee disabilities, as well as his hemorrhoids and bronchitis, were denied. The RO found that the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Board is remanding the case to the RO for further development and readjudication, including providing proper notice of what evidence would be necessary to substantiate the elements required to establish service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right knee arthritis, which manifested within one year of separation from active service, is presumed to have had its onset during his active service. The veteran does not have a current disability of either shoulder.

The veteran's claims for service connection for scalp lesions, allergies, prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia, bilateral knee arthritis, and bilateral ankle arthritis are being remanded due to insufficient evidence.,Service connection is granted for scalp lesions (including folliculitis decalvans, lichen planopilaris, and scarring alopecia).

The veteran's disabilities, including right hip disability and diabetes, do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for VA pension purposes due to their combined rating of 40 percent. The RO assigned ratings based on each individual condition under the appropriate diagnostic codes.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left and right knee disorders, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under applicable diagnostic codes. The veteran was also denied service connection for arthritis of the left knee.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chondromalacia of the left knee does not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent, as there is no evidence of moderate recurrent subluxation or lateral instability. The limitation of motion found in the VA examination did not meet the criteria for flexion limited to 45 degrees or extension limited to 10 degrees.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for asthma. However, it was determined that asthma did not exist prior to service and was not aggravated by active service. The other claims were also denied as there is no evidence of arthritis, hernia repair, cervical spine disorder, or low back disorder during service. The parakeratotic squamous mucosa with focal acute inflammation of the soft palate claim was also denied.

The Board found no diagnosed underlying disorder associated with the veteran's bilateral knee pain, resulting in a denial of her claim for service connection.

The Board found that the veteran's left knee internal derangement existed prior to service but was not aggravated by service. Service connection for this condition is granted. However, hypertension was not incurred in or aggravated by service and is not secondary to diabetes mellitus.

The Board denied an initial rating higher than the current 10 percent for the service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has found the evidence currently of record sufficient to establish the veteran's entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability due to aggravation by his service-connected left knee disabilities.

The VA has granted an initial disability rating of 10 percent for the veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee, effective from January 1, 2003.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected Osgood-Schlatter disease of the left knee status post surgery is being remanded due to failure to report to VA examinations and because there may be evidence of worsening since the last examination. The RO must also obtain treatment records from the Seattle Healthcare System, schedule a new VA examination, and consider whether referral for extra-schedular evaluation is warranted.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a right foot disorder, or a bilateral knee disorder. The claims are therefore denied.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for left knee chondromalacia as new and material evidence was not received, and the evidence does not show that a pre-existing condition was aggravated by military service.

The veteran's left knee surgery necessitated convalescence, and the VA granted an extension of a temporary total compensation rating for one month through October 31, 2005.