Knee decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and providing an etiology opinion.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current bilateral knee disability is related to his service-connected pes planus.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development and adjudication due to new evidence indicating potential secondary service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed knee, hip, and back disabilities are not related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left ankle strain/sprain with calcifications and right knee degenerative arthritis are not related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee and low back disorders have been denied. The RO found that the evidence did not support an initial compensable evaluation for either condition from December 1, 2005 to February 22, 2010, or any subsequent rating above 10 percent for the right knee disorder, nor a rating greater than 20 percent for his low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the reduction of the Veteran's disability rating for left knee osteochondritis desiccans with arthritis from 20 percent to 10 percent was not warranted and denied the appeal.

The Veteran's initial evaluations for his right and left knee disabilities, as well as other conditions, were granted at 10 percent.

The Veteran's left knee disability, characterized by painful motion and flexion limited to 115 degrees with no pain on motion, is currently rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found no evidence of a left ankle disability, and the left knee disability did not meet the criteria for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's Tietze's syndrome is characterized by subjective complaints of sharp, almost paralyzing chest pain occurring approximately twice a week and difficulty breathing with viral infections. The disability has been rated as noncompensably disabling under Diagnostic Code 5321.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as his conditions did not warrant higher ratings based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations for right knee retropatellar pain syndrome and arthritis were denied as the evidence did not show that his conditions warranted a higher evaluation.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left knee chondromalacia is not related to active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the appellant's low back, left knee, and right patellar tendonitis disabilities are related to his periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty training (INACDUTRA).

The Veteran's right knee disability, characterized by limitation of motion, was found to warrant a 10 percent rating since October 26, 2009.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examiner to address whether the Veteran's left knee disability is aggravated by his service-connected arthritis of the lumbar spine. The claim will be adjudicated again after this development.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to his request for withdrawal of the appeal. As a result, no further action by the Board is appropriate.

The Veteran's claim for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant is being remanded due to the need for further development, including a VA examination to assess his service-connected spine disability and its impact on his lower extremities.