Knee decisions — 2011

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development to determine the cause of his retirement and whether he is unemployable due to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal was timely filed, and the Board is reopening his claim for service connection of a right shoulder disability. The other claims remain pending.

The Veteran's sick sinus syndrome is found to be caused by his service-connected obstructive sleep apnea. The right knee degenerative joint disease status post total knee arthroplasty has been granted a 60% evaluation since May 1, 2007.

The Board denied service connection for a heart disorder and left knee disorder, finding no evidence of current disabilities or in-service incurrence/aggravation.,Service connection was not established for the skin (rash) disability due to lack of clear evidence.

The Veteran's left calf disability, characterized by atrophy and hyperflexia, is currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board finds that the current evaluation adequately reflects the severity of his condition.

The Board denied increased ratings for the Veteran's right knee arthritis and left knee arthroscopy with posttraumatic arthritis, finding that his disability did not warrant a higher rating based on current symptoms.

The Veteran's initial evaluations for right and left knee retropatellar pain syndrome have been granted at a 10 percent rating each, with no higher.

The Veteran's bilateral eye disability, including residuals of cataract surgeries and detached left retina, right shoulder disorder, right hip disorder, right knee disorder, and right ankle disorder are all found to be related to his active service. The claims for sinus disorder and hemorrhoids are not addressed as they were not part of the appeal.

The Board has granted service connection for right wrist pain/carpal tunnel syndrome, right knee strain/pain, left knee strain/pain, right ankle strain/pain, and left ankle strain/pain.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to insufficient evidence and potential increase in disability since his last VA examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right shoulder condition/partial tear and bilateral knee disorders is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including scheduling of VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and readjudicating the claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right hip arthritis is more likely than not related to trauma caused by multiple parachute jumps in active service, and therefore grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.

The Board found no credible evidence of a bilateral knee injury in service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee disability did not manifest in service or for years thereafter, and is not shown to be related to his military service or to his service-connected left knee disability. Therefore, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left shoulder disability is service-connected, as it was caused by an injury sustained during INACDUTRA. The claims for bilateral knee disabilities and a chronic disorder of the left arm are remanded for further development.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee disorder did not increase in severity during his active duty service and concluded that it was not aggravated by such service. The claim is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee disorder did not manifest during service and is not causally or etiologically related to his military service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate VA examinations and other issues.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left ankle disability and assigned an initial evaluation. The claims for increased evaluations of his right elbow, right knee, and left knee disabilities are pending.