Knee decisions — 2011

The Board has granted initial ratings of 10 percent for the Veteran's right and left knee disabilities, effective July 25, 2005. The Board also found that service connection is warranted for these conditions on a secondary basis due to their relationship to his pre-existing knee disabilities.

The Veteran's initial ratings for his knee and shoulder disabilities have been granted, with the right shoulder receiving a separate rating for instability. The left hand and left wrist conditions are not currently under appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations and opinions to determine the etiology of his claimed conditions.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on the issues of bilateral hearing loss, bilateral knee disorder and lumbar spine disorder has been withdrawn. The claims are dismissed.

The Board found no evidence of a current bilateral knee disorder and concluded that the appellant's claimed knee pain is not related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected right knee disabilities have been granted and assigned a 10 percent disability evaluation effective from October 18, 2008. The issue remains in appellate status as the separate disability rating for degenerative joint disease of the right knee arises from and is an element of the Veteran's appeal.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a diagnosed hip, leg, knee or right hand disability. The May 2009 VA examination did not reveal any arthritis in these joints.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and records review.

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left and right knee arthritis are service-connected as they were incurred during his active service.

The Veteran's left knee arthritis with limitation of motion was rated at 10 percent prior to July 16, 2010, and increased to 40 percent effective from July 16, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for migraine headaches and right knee disability were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a compensable rating for migraines prior to May 13, 2009 or a rating in excess of 30 percent thereafter. For his right knee condition, the evidence showed arthritis without significant limitation of motion or instability.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient response to private medical opinions and failure to consider lay assertions of continuity of symptomatology.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service treatment records and further development is required to determine if the Veteran's current right knee and hip disabilities are related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee, left knee, low back scar, and plantar fasciitis of both feet. The claim for increased rating for tinea pedis is also granted.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his right knee disability was denied as the current 30 percent rating is the maximum schedular rating available.

The appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant's authorized representative prior to a decision being made.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment, thus denying his claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case due to the appellant's failure to appear for a requested Travel Board hearing. The case is now pending and will be scheduled for another hearing.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination regarding his right knee, as he testified that he could not perform the required squats at the previous examination and there are indications of worsening since then.