Knee decisions — 2010

The Veteran's major depression is found to be related to her service-connected disabilities, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder and left knee disorder, as well as his request for an effective date prior to December 4, 2002, for the grant of service connection for PTSD. The Veteran's claim for increased rating for PTSD was also denied, and he was not granted TDIU based on service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for a permanent and total rating for pension purposes is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations, records review, and reconsideration of his disability ratings under the Schedule for Rating Disabilities.

The Board finds that the Veteran's low back disorder has been aggravated by his service-connected right knee disorder and grants service connection for this condition as secondary to the right knee disorder.

The Board has dismissed the appeal for service connection for migraine headaches due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal. The case is remanded for further development regarding whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim of service connection for bilateral knee disability, as well as for evaluations of the Veteran's low back and left ankle/heel disabilities.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities were not caused by his military service and denied his claim.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee replacements and post-operative pulmonary embolisms are not considered to have contributed to his death, as the cause of death is attributed to another condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records, arranging for orthopedic and neurologic examinations, and re-adjudicating the claims.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining service medical records and a VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's right knee disability is not etiologically related to his service-connected postoperative internal derangement of the left knee with degenerative arthritis, and thus, he does not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for right and left knee disorders. The Veteran's claims were reopened, but the right and left knee disorders are not related to his military service or any service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, and scars from gunshot wound are denied as his conditions do not warrant the higher evaluations sought.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a right knee disorder, including Baker's Cyst and osteoarthritis. The case is being remanded to obtain a VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current right knee disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the left knee, finding that there was no evidence linking the current condition to his active service.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis of degenerative joint disease was not related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including arthritis and instability, warrants a separate 10 percent rating for limitation of extension. The May 2009 VA examination confirmed the presence of arthritis with limited flexion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher ratings for his right knee and left ankle disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a rating higher than the current assigned ratings.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee and lumbar spine disabilities are proximately due to or the result of his service-connected left knee disability, granting service connection for these conditions.