Knee decisions — 2013

The Veteran's service records do not show any diagnosed cervical spine, thoracic and lumbar spines, left shoulder, right knee, or left knee disabilities. GERD was first noted after service in August 2008. The Board finds that the Veteran did not have these conditions during service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional medical records and providing a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's right knee disorder is related to service or his left knee disabilities. The right eye disorder claim will also be considered.

The Veteran does not have any current residuals of a right knee injury due to disease or injury from his active duty service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals concerning all issues related to service connection and TDIU prior to October 22, 2010.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left knee synovitis do not meet the criteria for initial ratings higher than 10 percent, as his symptoms do not warrant more severe disability evaluations.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left knee disabilities were denied as the evidence did not show that his symptoms warranted a higher rating.

The Board found no evidence of a current right or left knee disability that is related to service, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities render him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, warranting a TDIU on an extra-schedular basis.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of her service-connected traumatic arthritis of the left knee was granted, with a 20 percent rating effective from March 29, 2013.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for arthritis of the back and neck, but denied the claim for hypertension. The bilateral knee condition is considered secondary to residuals of right ankle fracture.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found that the right knee disability was rated appropriately at 10 percent, but did not find any new evidence to reopen previously denied claims.

For the entire initial rating period, the Veteran's left and right knee disabilities have been manifested by painful motion with normal extension, flexion at worst to 90 degrees bilaterally, without lateral instability or recurrent subluxation, and without dislocation of the semilunar cartilage. These symptoms do not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating.

The Veteran's right knee disability is being remanded for additional development to determine its etiology, including obtaining in-service hospital records and VA treatment records.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his death, as well as whether his service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his COPD.

The Board finds that the Veteran's cause of death, cancer of the esophagus, was not related to service. The right knee disability did not contribute substantially or materially to the Veteran's cause of death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disorder is related to his service-connected left knee and lumbar spine disorders, granting service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no current disability.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disorder was denied as he did not sustain an injury or disease in service and does not currently have a chronic residual disability of the right knee.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for atrial fibrillation, secondary to PTSD, was denied as there is no evidence that it is related to his service-connected PTSD.,The Veteran's initial disability evaluation for left headaches prior to March 31, 2011, was granted at a 30% rating. However, the claim for an increased rating from March 31, 2011, has not been met.

The Board found that the Veteran's left knee, right hip, and low back disabilities are not service-connected or secondary to his service-connected right knee disability. The VA examiners provided negative opinions on direct and secondary service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's current lumbar spine, bilateral knee, and right shoulder disabilities are not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing in-service incurrence or aggravation.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under the applicable rating criteria.