Knee decisions — 2009

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues on appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability as secondary to his service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes, finding that there was no evidence of such disability in service and that it is not related to his service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his military service and have denied all of his claims for service connection.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic condition during service or within the applicable presumptive period, and there is no competent medical nexus linking any current disabilities to military service. The Veteran's claims for right and left knee disabilities, residuals of a fracture of the left fifth finger, a disability of the neck and upper back, a lumbar spine disability, and Reiter's syndrome were denied.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his low back strain and left knee instability were denied, but he was granted a separate disability rating of 20 percent for early degenerative changes of the left knee.

The Veteran is seeking a higher rating for his right knee disability, which has been rated at 10 percent. The case is being remanded to the RO for additional development of evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left knee degenerative joint disease with anterior cruciate laxity are related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's right knee disability, post-replacement surgery, is currently rated at 30 percent. The Board finds that the current rating adequately reflects his symptoms and does not warrant an increase.

The Board found that the Veteran's left knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. The VA examiner concluded that the current state of the left knee was normal with no evidence of arthritis.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to issues related to service connection and rating of knee disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee chondromalacia, anterior cruciate ligament tear, and osteoarthritis. The appellant's pension claim was denied due to his period of active duty not meeting the requirements for pension eligibility.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his knee and lumbar spine disabilities, as well as hypertension, were denied. The conditions are rated based on their direct service connection without any presumption or secondary theory.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disorder and finds that new and material evidence has been submitted. The case is now remanded for further development, including an examination to determine if any current left knee disorder is related to active duty service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar disc disease, residuals of a right shoulder injury, and residuals of a right knee injury. However, the preponderance of the evidence is against these claims as there is no current diagnosis or competent medical opinion linking any current disabilities to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings for his right ankle disability, bilateral knee osteoarthritis, and symptomatic removal of semilunar cartilage were denied. The Veteran was granted a separate 10 percent rating for the symptomatic removal of semilunar cartilage of the right knee.

The Board found that the Veteran's claim for nonservice-connected disability pension benefits was not received prior to April 11, 2006. As a result, the effective date of the grant of benefits is set as of April 11, 2006.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability. However, the claim remains denied as there is no competent evidence linking any current right knee disability to service.

The Board found that the reduction in the evaluation for right knee ligament relaxation, patellofemoral syndrome from 20 percent to 0 percent was proper.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied. The Board found no evidence of current disabilities or a link to service.