Knee decisions — 2013

The Board has remanded the case due to failure to afford the Veteran a hearing. The issues of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and right knee disorder are still pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral knee condition did not undergo an increase in severity during service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Veteran is currently in receipt of a 10 percent disability rating for his degenerative joint disease of the right knee.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the Veteran is currently receiving a 50% rating for her migraine headaches, which is the maximum schedular rating allowed.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining updated medical records. The issue of an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected degenerative joint disease of the left knee remains on appeal.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and a kidney disorder, as well as his requests for increased ratings for various disabilities, were denied. The Veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability prior to January 29, 2010.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for right knee bursitis with osteoarthritis before the Board could make a decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims regarding his left knee disability, B12 deficiency and anemia (claimed as blood deficiencies), memory loss, fatigue, neck disorder, back disorder, and lung disorder. The effective dates for these decisions are not specified.

The Veteran's appeal of all remaining issues has been withdrawn by his authorized representative.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him unemployable.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee, back, and bilateral hip disabilities are not related to his active service. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's left knee instability and DJD of the left knee, status post ACL reconstruction with limited extension are rated at 20 percent each. The Veteran's painful left knee scars are rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus and chondromalacia patella of the left knee were denied, as his conditions did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under VA rating criteria. The claim for TDIU was also denied.

The Veteran's left knee disability prior to January 6, 2004 was not shown to meet the criteria for a higher evaluation than 30 percent.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for his right and left knee disabilities were denied. The RO assigned initial 10 percent ratings for each disability, effective June 1, 1999.

The Board found no evidence of a current service-connected condition or an in-service injury that could be linked to the Veteran's current bilateral knee disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and issuing a statement of the case on his increased evaluation claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted, and thus denied all of his claims.

The Board has determined that further development is needed, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination. The case will be remanded to the RO for adjudication.

The Veteran's service-connected post-operative right total knee arthroplasty with leg shortening is causing or aggravating his degenerative joint disease of the left knee, status-post left total knee replacement. His increased rating claim for this condition is granted.