Knee decisions — 2010

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the current severity of his left knee disability and obtaining all outstanding medical records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development and consideration of his claims, including a TDIU rating and an extraschedular rating due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative changes of the lumbar spine with back strain, right knee, and left knee disabilities were denied as there was no evidence showing that any condition warranted a rating higher than the current assigned disability ratings.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disorder and right knee disorder were denied, while his claim for acid reflux was granted. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinea versicolor is not established.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence does not relate to the unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claims of service connection for skin, lumbar spine, right knee and left knee disabilities. The Veteran's current disabilities are not related to his service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a left knee disorder attributable to service and his right knee disability is rated at 20 percent, but the claim for increased rating remains denied.

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disorder and a noncompensable initial evaluation for the service-connected left ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's claim is remanded to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) regarding his request for higher evaluations.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right and left knee disorder is not related to his period of active service, including an inservice injury to his right thigh. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the current condition was incurred or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for chondromalacia of the left knee, reopening his asbestos exposure claim, and service connection for bilateral hearing loss were all denied by the Board. The denial was based on insufficient evidence to support these claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left knee condition other than a scar, specifically chronic pain of the left knee, was denied. The Board found no evidence of current disability related to in-service injuries and concluded that the claimed conditions are not connected to service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and for a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected right and left knee disabilities.

The Board has ordered additional development of the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee disorders, including obtaining his service records and a VA examination. The appeal is remanded to allow for these actions.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of November 5, 1997 for the award of TDIU based on VA outpatient treatment records indicating the Veteran was totally disabled due to service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and clarifying whether specially adaptive equipment or an automobile is appropriate based on her service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral knee disability and respiratory disability, to include bronchitis, were denied as the evidence did not support service connection.

The Board found no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's left knee disability is related to service, and thus denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disorder and a cervical spine disorder. The denial is based on the lack of current diagnoses, continuity of symptomatology, and insufficient evidence linking the disorders to service or service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable evaluation for left knee disability was granted, but his claim for service connection of the right elbow disorder was denied.

The Veteran's claims are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions regarding her hearing loss, left arm disability, and bilateral knee disabilities. The low threshold standard of McLendon is met in all three cases.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disorders, including bilateral pes planus and a lower back disorder, are at least as likely as not related to his currently diagnosed bilateral dorsal lateral midfoot varicosities, cervical spine degenerative disc disease at C5-C7, left hip degenerative joint disease, bilateral knee degenerative joint disease, and sacroiliac syndrome. As such, the criteria for service connection have been met.