Knee decisions — 2009

The Board denied service connection for right hip arthroplasty, right knee arthroplasty, left knee arthroplasty, multilevel spinal degenerative disc disease, and left hip arthritis as they are not related to the veteran's active duty service.

The Veteran's right knee and left shoulder disabilities were evaluated, but neither condition warranted a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied service connection for glaucoma and reduced the ratings for degenerative joint disease of the right knee, left knee, and lumbar spine from 20 to 10 percent effective July 1, 2008. The reduction was proper for the right and left knees but not for the lumbar spine.

The Board found no basis to assign a disability rating higher than 20 percent for the Veteran's osteoarthritis of both knees.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a right shoulder disability and headaches were denied, while the claim for a higher rating for his neck disability was granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for arthritis, finding no evidence of such condition in service or within one year of discharge and no medical evidence linking current conditions to active military service.

The Board denied service connection for left and right knee disorders as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD, a left knee disability, and a residual disability due to a head injury as there was no current diagnosis of PTSD, no current diagnosis of a left knee disability, and the current cognitive disorder, migraine headaches, and seizure disorder were not related to service.

The veteran's service-connected patellofemoral pain syndrome of the right knee has been granted a 20 percent rating.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and denied initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for degenerative joint disease of the right and left knees.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee disability, bilateral foot disability, and bilateral elbow disability as the evidence did not support that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The veteran's claims for an increased rating for left knee chondromalacia, service connection for PTSD and depression, and to reopen a claim for a left foot/toe disability were denied.

The appeal is remanded for additional development, including VCAA notice and a VA examination to determine the etiology of the veteran's claimed right and left knee disabilities.

The veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, a bilateral hip disability, and a low back disability were reopened based on new and material evidence. However, the Board found that these disabilities are not secondary to his service-connected ankle disability.

The veteran has withdrawn his appeal regarding all issues on appeal, and the Board has no jurisdiction to further adjudicate or address these claims.

The veteran's right and left knee instability were rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board found that a higher rating was not warranted.

The veteran's left knee disability is not shown to be more severe than the currently assigned 10 percent rating, as his range of motion does not warrant a higher evaluation under applicable criteria.

The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claims for service connection for total left knee arthroplasty and total right knee arthroplasty.

The veteran's degenerative arthritis of the left knee is related to a leg injury that occurred during military service.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's left and right knee strains, cervical strain, and lumbar strain due to a lack of evidence supporting higher disability evaluations.