Knee decisions — 2010

The Veteran's tinnitus was incurred in service, and the Board finds that his bilateral knee disability is not related to service. The claim for tinnitus is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability is related to his military service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's cervical spine disability was granted a 20 percent rating effective March 13, 2007. The ratings for left and right knee chondromalacia remain at 10 percent.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The issues of increased evaluation for right knee disability, entitlement to a compensable rating for right hand disability, and service connection for a back disability are also being addressed.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee disorder was denied, and his initial evaluation for right flank hematoma and hernia was also denied. The Board found no current diagnosis of a chronic left knee disorder or any other disability related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent throughout the appeal period.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective date were denied. The Board found that the claim for hypertension was not received prior to February 27, 2003.

The appellant withdrew his appeal regarding the issues of service connection for residuals of a right wrist injury, residuals of a left wrist injury and residuals of a right knee injury.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining VA and Social Security Administration records related to his orthopedic disorders.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral knee disability, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen his original claim. The Board also found that there was no medical evidence linking his current knee disabilities to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the right knee and Meniere's disease are likely due to his military service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral knee arthralgia and neck pain, finding no current chronic disabilities. The Veteran's conditions were not linked to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and initial compensable evaluations for bilateral hearing loss disability, dry eye syndrome, right knee strain, left knee strain, and low to mid back strain have all been denied.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of left knee strain and lumbar strain are denied as there is no evidence of a prior claim filed before June 21, 2006.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his intervertebral disc degeneration of the lumbar spine, internal derangement of the right shoulder, and right knee patellofemoral syndrome.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current diagnoses of right and left knee disorders or tinnitus, which are required for service connection. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining medical records and conducting examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death. His claims for various disabilities and compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 are not before the Board.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left knee arthritis is caused by his military service and grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right foot, left foot, right knee, and left knee disabilities.