Knee decisions — 2012

The Veteran seeks service connection for a right knee disability. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the Veteran's current right knee disability is related to his military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding his right knee and foot disabilities.

The Veteran's initial claim for a left knee disability was denied, and the appeal is not about service connection at all. The decision does not provide specific details on the rating assigned or effective date.

The Veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his service-connected osteoarthritis of the left knee is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including VA examinations and medical opinions regarding his claimed bilateral knee disorder, lower back disorder, and diabetes mellitus, type 2.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and development of his claims for service connection for right hip, knee, and foot disorders secondary to a service-connected right ankle sprain.

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

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his request for a hearing and the appeal is no longer pending.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development to verify periods of active service, obtain relevant medical records, and provide a VA examiner with a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death was related to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability is currently rated at 20 percent, and his right knee disability at 20 percent. Both conditions have been denied for increased ratings.

The Veteran's hypertension was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to or aggravated by a service-connected disability, including type II diabetes mellitus. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against his claim for service connection.,Since the date of his claim, the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity has been characterized by symptoms that are compatible with no more than mild, incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve and does not warrant an initial rating in excess of 10 percent.,Since the date of his claim, the Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the left lower extremity has been characterized by symptoms that are compatible with no more than mild, incomplete paralysis of the sciatic nerve and does not warrant an initial rating in excess of 10 percent.,Throughout the period on appeal, the Veteran's left knee disability has been manifest by arthritis with noncompensable limitation of extension and flexion with complaints of pain on use; no instability has been reported. The criteria for an increased rating greater than 10 percent have not been met.

The Veteran was granted compensation for loss of muscle in the abdomen and nerve damage from the right groin to the right knee, but denied compensation for atrial fibrillation.,Compensation for additional disabilities resulting from VA treatment is granted for loss of muscle in the abdomen and nerve damage from the right groin to the right knee. However, the Veteran's atrial fibrillation was not caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral knee and low back disorders to comply with previous remand directives. The Veteran seeks secondary service connection for these conditions based on his service-connected left foot disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lower extremity pain and numbness, bilateral knee disability, and bilateral hearing loss disability. The decision found that there was no evidence of a disease or injury in service that could be linked to these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's claimed low back, right knee, and left knee disabilities based on continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting further examinations.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding records and a need for clarification of medical opinions. The Veteran's claims for service connection for knee and shin disabilities are pending.

The Board has determined that service connection is not warranted for a sinus disability, to include sinusitis. The Veteran's knee disabilities are also denied as the evidence does not support a finding of chronicity or continuity of symptomatology since service.

The Veteran's back and left knee disabilities are being remanded for further development to determine if they are secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's initial ratings for right knee and right ankle disabilities have been remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records from March 5, 2012 to the present.