Knee decisions — 2013

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA and Worker's Compensation records, as well as VA treatment records. He will also undergo examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected right and left knee disabilities and mononeuritis of the left superficial peroneal nerve.

The Board granted service connection for left knee chondromalacia, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and PRK with residual dry eye and halo. The Veteran's current conditions are deemed to be related to her active duty service.

Your claims for reopening service connection for bilateral knee disorder and headaches, as well as for service connection for disc disease and sciatica of the left lower extremity secondary to lumbosacral strain are being remanded for further action.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions and records, including a VA examination for his service-connected knee disabilities. The TDIU claim will also be addressed.

The Veteran's effective dates for service connection and increased ratings for her left knee disabilities have been adjusted to January 16, 2001 and January 16, 2002 respectively. The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee as of January 16, 2002.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing VA examinations.

The RO properly calculated the combined schedular disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected disabilities following increases in ratings for individual disabilities by a December 2010 rating decision, and he is not entitled to a higher combined rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities are not related to his military service, including as secondary to his already service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development of his claims file.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a right knee disability that was caused by his service or any service-connected condition. The claim for service connection and increased rating for residuals of right tibia injury is denied.

The Veteran's additional disability of burns behind the left knee with nerve damage, left foot drop and unemployability is not shown to have been proximately caused by VA surgical treatment nor is his September 19, 2002 surgery shown to have been performed in a VA facility or by a VA employee. Therefore, he does not meet the criteria for compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.

The VA denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of his bilateral knee disability, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by military service and is not related to a service-connected condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain missing Reserve treatment records and verify his periods of inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current back disorder is related to an injury sustained during active service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran is seeking TDIU benefits due to service-connected left knee and right ring finger disabilities. The Board finds that additional development is needed, including obtaining an opinion on the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employability.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing the Veteran with a new examination to assess his employability due to service-connected disabilities. The claim will also be referred to the Director of Compensation and Pension Services for consideration of an extraschedular TDIU rating.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and adjudication of claims related to diabetes mellitus, an increased rating for a right tibia fracture disability, and reopening of a previously denied claim for peripheral neuropathy. The TDIU claim will be held in abeyance until these issues are resolved.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral lower extremity disorders, including peripheral arterial disease and peripheral vascular disease, as well as right below the knee amputation residuals. The conditions are not considered to be related to service or any presumptive exposure.

The Veteran's low back disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected right knee disability. His right knee TKR residuals are rated at the maximum available schedular rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as the evidence did not establish that his current left knee and low back disabilities are related to active military service. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for a left knee disability, and concluded that the Veteran's current conditions are not caused or aggravated by any service-connected condition.