Knee decisions — 2012

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disorder due to new and material evidence submitted since the final denial in January 2003. The Board finds that there is reasonable doubt as to whether the current right knee disorder is related to service, but leans towards finding it is related.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee, left knee, right hip, left hip, and low back disabilities are proximately due to his service-connected traumatic arthritis of the left ankle.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims, including a VA examination to address his psychiatric, joint, and skin conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability and residuals of pneumonia are related to service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable VA rating schedule.

The Veteran's tinnitus was not related to his military service. His initial ratings for shin splints of the right and left legs with chondromalacia of the patellae were denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, high blood pressure, and stomach disorder. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder was remanded.

The Board found no evidence of a right knee disorder related to service, and concluded that the Veteran's current right knee condition is not due to any incident during his military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral knee disability (Osgood-Schlatter disease) was not aggravated during service beyond its natural progression, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as his conditions are not related to his military service or secondary to a service-connected condition.

The Veteran's left knee disorder was not shown to be related to service, and his claim for TDIU was denied as he is not rendered unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a right knee disorder or interstitial cystitis that is related to his active service, and any current disorders are not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a right hand disorder, right shoulder disorder, right knee disorder, and herniated pulpous at L4-L5, status post spinal fusion and laminectomy. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active duty service.

The Veteran is seeking compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for a bilateral above-the-knee amputation due to VA treatment in September and October 2006, but additional evidence is needed before a decision can be made.

The Board has granted service connection for chondrocalcinosis of the right knee, left knee, and spinal stenosis at L4-5 with nerve root compression at L4-5 and L5-S1. These conditions are considered to have had their clinical onset during active service.,No disability rating was assigned as there is no evidence of a current disability or any functional impairment due to these conditions.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's service connection claims for low back disability, psychiatric disability, right hip disability, and right knee disability due to his failure to respond to requests for identifying information and releases for pertinent medical records within a year. The extraschedular rating claim for residuals of a fractured left medial malleolus was denied.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability is rated at 20 percent effective June 30, 2010. The initial ratings for polyneuropathy of the upper extremities and impairment of sphincter control are granted but not yet assigned effective dates. Erectile dysfunction remains noncompensable.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development of her right knee disability, including obtaining updated clinical records and a VA examination following her June 2009 arthroscopic surgery.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen several of her claims. The claim for an increased evaluation for residuals of left femur fracture was also denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, as well as service connection for chronic shoulder and low back disabilities secondary to his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities were denied.