Knee decisions — 2009

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits records.

The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated as 30 percent disabling for the period beginning November 1, 2007. The rating reflects chronic residuals of severe painful motion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability and a heart disability, finding that there was no direct evidence linking these disabilities to his active service.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's service-connected right knee instability and torn meniscus, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee condition is service-connected due to an injury sustained during active duty. The claim for a left ankle condition, which was secondary to his right foot disability, cannot be granted as there is no confirmed diagnosis of a current left ankle disorder.

The Board found no evidence of a right knee disability in service or within one year post-service, and concluded that the current right knee arthritis is not related to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle disability. The claim for secondary service connection was also denied.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further development, including a new VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities alone prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic bilateral knee disability in service and insufficient continuity of symptomatology to establish service connection. The Veteran's current bilateral knee disability is not linked to his active duty.

The Veteran's right knee disorder is found to be aggravated by his service-connected left knee condition, and he is granted service connection for this secondary disability. For his seborrheic blepharitis associated with seborrheic dermatitis, the Veteran is awarded an initial 10 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess his PTSD and right knee disability. The TDIU claim will also be addressed.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of left or right knee disabilities, and thus service connection for these conditions cannot be granted.

The Board found that the appellant's right knee disability was not incurred in or related to service, and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that an examination and medical nexus opinion are necessary to properly resolve the claim of service connection for a right knee disability.

The Veteran's knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent for arthritis and fracture of the right tibia. He also has a separate rating for quadriceps atrophy and shortening of the right tibia, but this issue was not addressed in the decision.

The Veteran's right knee medial meniscal tear, status post arthroscopic repair, is currently rated at 10 percent and does not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on limitation of motion or functional loss.

The Veteran's right knee patellofemoral dysfunction was not incurred or aggravated in active military service, and is not secondary to the Veteran's service connected left knee tendinitis.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for partial amputation of the left fourth finger and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the left leg have been denied. The remaining claims for right knee, left knee, right ankle, and left ankle arthralgia have all been granted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current knee disabilities are related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining service personnel records and medical records from private hospitals and VA facilities. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered after these records are obtained.

The Board found that the Veteran did not file a claim for separate evaluations for his right knee, ankle and bilateral leg disabilities prior to August 22, 2005. As such, the effective date of service connection cannot be earlier than August 22, 2005.