Knee decisions — 2010

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for further examination and opinion regarding his employability due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has found that the Veteran's current arthritis of the knees is the result of a disease or injury during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right and left knee disorders are not related to his military service, as there is no evidence of such conditions during or within one year after service. The VA examiner found no link between the Veteran's in-service injury and his current diagnoses.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back, right knee, and left knee disorders due to lack of evidence showing a causal link between these conditions and his active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current low back or right knee condition and therefore, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Veteran's claims for initial compensable and excess of 10 percent ratings for his service-connected right patellar tendonitis with degenerative joint disease, left knee disability, and lumbar spine disability have been denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disorder was incurred in service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to his failure to appear at scheduled VA examinations. The case will be returned to the Board for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected gunshot wound residuals of the right knee with osteoarthritis are currently rated at 30 percent for the period from December 11, 2006 - May 22, 2007. For the earlier periods, his disability does not warrant a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right knee disability, chondromalacia, is service connected as it resulted from an injury in service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, even though they do not result in a combined 100 percent schedular evaluation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and determining the current severity of his service-connected right knee condition. The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is also raised.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left knee disability is a congenital abnormality (bipartite patella) and not incurred or aggravated by service. As such, service connection for a left knee disability was denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, neck, and stomach disorders were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service occurrence of these conditions. The claim for PTSD was also denied due to lack of credible supporting evidence of the claimed stressors.

The Veteran's claim is being remanded for a new examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected left knee posttraumatic degenerative joint disease, and for consideration of an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis for any of his claimed disabilities, including back disability, bilateral hip and knee disabilities, bilateral leg disability, posttraumatic stress disorder, or eye injury. Therefore, service connection is denied.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine was denied. The VA medical examination showed that the Veteran had forward flexion to at least 45 degrees, extension to at least 35 degrees, right lateral flexion to 38 degrees, left lateral flexion to 40 degrees, right rotation to 60 degrees, and left rotation to 55 degrees. The combined range of motion was 273 degrees.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various disorders were denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a relationship to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing updated VA examinations.

The Veteran's initial claim for a deviated nasal septum was granted, but he is seeking an increased rating. The VA determined that the condition does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on obstruction of the nasal passage. For his left knee condition, the case has been remanded due to outstanding medical records and further examination.