Knee decisions — 2011

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disorder is related to his period of active service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's right knee replacement resulted in chronic residuals consisting of severe painful motion or weakness, warranting a rating of 60 percent from January 2, 2008 to March 29, 2009. For the period prior to January 2, 2008 and from May 1, 2010, his right knee replacement resulted in chronic residuals consisting of severe painful motion or weakness, warranting a rating of 30 percent.

The Veteran's left knee replacement is rated at 30 percent, with separate ratings for instability and a muscle injury. The claim was denied in part but granted in part.

The Board has decided to remand the reopened claims of service connection for right knee, right shoulder, low back, bilateral hearing loss, and left knee disabilities due to the need for further development.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable rating criteria.

The appellant withdrew his appeal of the claim of service connection for a left knee disability before the Board could make a decision.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development regarding his claims of service connection for prostate cancer and a left knee disorder. The prostate cancer claim will be considered under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.311 due to inaccurate radiation exposure information, while the left knee disorder claim requires additional examination and opinion.

The Board denied service connection for various foot, ankle, knee, hip, and low back conditions as well as bilateral eye conditions. The Veteran's claims were not supported by the evidence of record.

The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his right knee DJD has been granted, but the RO is instructed to schedule a new VA examination and obtain any relevant medical records before deciding whether he should receive a higher rating.

The Board has found new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee disability. The Veteran had a pre-existing left knee condition that was aggravated by his active duty service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome is at least as likely as not related to his active service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability is not secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected left knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 10 percent for either condition.

The Veteran's right knee disability has been rated at 20 percent since the initial grant of service connection, and no higher rating is warranted for any period on appeal.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including instability and limitation of motion, has been granted a 10 percent rating since February 1, 2004.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining an opinion from a VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's right hip disability is aggravated by his service-connected right knee disorder.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including right shoulder, low back, and right leg disabilities. The claims were previously denied on the merits due to lack of evidence linking current conditions to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and determining whether his brain tumor qualifies for presumptive service connection.

The Veteran's service connection claims for right elbow, left elbow tendinitis, right shoulder bursitis, left shoulder disability, bilateral knee chondromalacia, bilateral wrist disability, right ankle disability, left ankle tendinitis, and low back disability have all been granted.

The Veteran's increased rating claim for postoperative residuals of a left knee injury with degenerative joint disease and chondrocalcinosis was denied as the evidence did not show improvement warranting a higher rating. The RO reduced his rating from 20 to 10 percent effective July 1, 2007.