Knee decisions — 2013

The Veteran's right knee disability has been manifested by pain and limitation of motion, but no ankylosis, dislocated semilunar cartilage, no limitation of extension, or impairment of the tibia and fibula. The Board finds that his disability does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's request for withdrawal of his appeal.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated at 30 percent from February 1, 2007 to February 28, 2008 and from April 4, 2008 to October 21, 2008. The RO reduced the rating to 10 percent effective March 1, 2010.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings, reopening of service connection claims, and service connection for various conditions. The decision is final on all issues except those related to reopening of previously denied claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development of his claims, including obtaining medical records and arranging for examinations to assess the current severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's lumbar spine, right knee, and left knee disabilities are not service-connected as they are not related to his military service or any incident therein. The preponderance of evidence shows that these conditions did not develop during service or until many years after service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a supplemental opinion from an examiner. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is pending.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate examination reports. The case is now pending further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability, and the issues raised did not involve presumptive conditions or exposure to known environmental exposures.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have residuals of a head trauma, and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are sufficient by themselves to render him unemployable, and his TDIU claim is granted.

The Veteran's appeal involves three issues related to his service-connected right knee, lumbar degenerative disc disease, and chronic right ankle strain. The case is being remanded for additional development including obtaining updated treatment records and scheduling VA examinations.

The Veteran's service-connected osteoarthritic changes in both knees are currently rated at 20 percent each, and the evidence does not support a higher rating.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for a left knee disorder. The weight of the evidence supports that the Veteran's current left knee disorder is related to his active duty training injury in April 1999.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling an in-person hearing at the Regional Office.

The Veteran's tinnitus is service-connected as it had its onset from an injury, disease or event of active service origin.,The Veteran's conduction aphasia and receptive aprosodia (stuttering) are service-connected as they had their onset from an injury, disease or event of active service origin.,There is no evidence to support the claim for a cognitive disability. The Veteran has not been diagnosed with this condition during service or within one year after separation, and it is unrelated to any injury or disease in service.,The Veteran's headache disability does not meet the criteria for service connection as there is no evidence of such a condition during service or within one year after separation.,The Veteran has an undiagnosed illness manifested by sore and tender muscles/joint pain of the elbows, shoulders, calves, and knees. This condition had its onset from an injury, disease, or event of active service origin.,The Veteran has an undiagnosed illness manifested by low back pain. This condition also had its onset from an injury, disease, or event of active service origin.

The Board found no evidence to support service connection for a right foot disability and denied the claim. For the left knee strain, the Veteran's current condition is rated at 10% since July 23, 2008.

The Veteran's dysthymic disorder due to chronic pain is currently rated at 30 percent since July 25, 2008. The other service-connected conditions have their respective ratings as described in the issues section.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and an examination to determine if the Veteran's right knee disability is related to service or a service-connected condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for his service-connected right knee disorder, finding that the evidence did not support a separate or higher evaluation under Diagnostic Codes 5259 and 5261.