Knee decisions — 2011

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by active service. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's bilateral eye disability and right knee internal derangement with traumatic arthritis.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for intervertebral disk disease, facet athropathy, right total knee replacement, and left total knee replacement. Resolving all doubts in favor of the Veteran, his currently diagnosed conditions are found to be related to his military service.

The Veteran's right wrist disability is not service-connected, as there is no evidence of a current condition or in-service injury. The left eye corneal scar does not result in decreased visual acuity to warrant a compensable rating.,The postoperative left knee meniscal tear resulted in pain and occasional instability but did not meet the criteria for an initial 10% disability rating from August 2009 onwards, nor higher than 10% from February 2009 onwards. The lumbar spine DJD met the criteria for a 20% disability rating since February 2009.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities had effectively resulted in his inability to use both feet for a year prior to June 23, 2008. Therefore, an effective date of August 14, 2007, was granted for the award of special monthly compensation at the P-1 level.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right shoulder and left knee disabilities are related to his military service, specifically parachute jumps during periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee and ankle disorders, as well as right and left ankle disorders. However, further development is required to determine the appropriate rating and effective date for hypertension.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection were granted. The right knee disability is rated at 20 percent, the right hip disability at 10 percent, and the left knee disability at a noncompensable rating.

The Veteran's claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated treatment records and arranging for orthopedic and skin examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hip disorder and right knee disorder were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The claims for service connection were denied.

The VA examiner found no direct service connection for the Veteran's left hip disorder, but determined that her current condition is secondary to her service-connected left knee disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right knee disorder is not related to her military service and denied her claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for a scar as a residual of a shell fragment wound to the left knee was denied by the RO. The Board is remanding the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and arranging for a VA examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's left foot disability, specifically post-surgical residuals of left foot calcaneus fracture with short extensor muscle tear, metatarsal dislocation and traumatic arthritis, was not incurred in or aggravated by service, or by a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development, including obtaining service personnel records and any existing treatment records from Bentwaters Air Base. The appellant is also scheduled for a VA examination to determine if he has the claimed disabilities and whether they are related to service.

The Veteran does not have a current knee disability related to service. The Board finds that the evidence does not establish a current right knee disability and concludes that there is no direct service connection for either knee.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hip disabilities but denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and right and left hip disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left hip disorder and an increased evaluation for instability of the left knee due to lack of evidence showing a chronic disability in service or at any time thereafter, as well as his failure to report for multiple VA examinations.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone preclude substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience, and the Board grants TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and to ensure compliance with prior directives, including notification of a scheduled examination.