Knee decisions — 2015

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disability, finding that the Veteran's joint pain began during his active service in Southwest Asia and is causally related to his military service.

The Veteran's current acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, is not etiologically related to his military service. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs against finding in favor of the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD.

The Board found that the Veteran's right shoulder, knee, and hip disabilities were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The Veteran's right hand disability was rated as 70 percent disabling under the applicable schedular criteria.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling the appellant for examinations to assess his service-connected disabilities.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee patellofemoral joint syndrome, prior to February 24, 2012, more nearly approximated painful limitation of motion with flexion greater than 45 degrees and extension limited by less than 10 degrees. The Board granted a compensable disability rating (10%) for this period.

The Veteran's right knee disability, including DJD and post-AVL tear, is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board has not granted any higher rating as the evidence does not support such a finding.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of GERD, bilateral knee disability, bilateral arm disability, or right hip disability.,VA examinations were not required for these claims as there is no evidence of a chronic condition during service or an applicable presumption period.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right knee strain was not shown to be related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, with the most recent and severe audiologic results yielding a noncompensable rating.,Service connection for left knee osteoarthritis and right knee osteoarthritis to include medial joint compartment narrowing has been granted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for scheduling a hearing before a member of the Board at the RO.

The Board has determined that the September 2010 examination report is inadequate for adjudication due to a contradiction in the evidentiary record. The Veteran's left knee injury, assessed as probable torn medial meniscus, occurred during service and may be related to his current left knee disability.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's claimed left knee, right hip, and left hip disorders due to lack of evidence showing a link between these conditions and his active service or any service-connected disability.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee arthritis, left shoulder arthritis, and mitral valve prolapse. The Veteran's conditions are found to be related to his active service.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, right knee arthritis, and joint disorder are not service-connected as there is no evidence of a nexus to his military service.

The Veteran's claim to reopen the issue of entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability was denied because new and material evidence was not submitted. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus was denied as his tinnitus is not shown to be related to his active military service.

The Board finds that the current left knee degenerative joint disease is not caused or permanently worsened by the service-connected right knee osteoarthritis.

The Board has remanded the case for a new medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's right knee condition was proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The VA Board of Veterans' Appeals found that the Veteran's current left knee condition, diagnosed as bipartite patella, preexisted service and was not aggravated by service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for a new opinion regarding whether the Veteran's joint pains are attributable to known clinical diagnoses or represent an undiagnosed illness, and if so, whether they are separate from DJD.

The Veteran's GERD was granted an initial rating of 10 percent effective February 2, 2010. Service connection for right shoulder injury and right knee injury were denied. Service connection for migraine headaches secondary to PTSD was granted. Service connection for bilateral tinnitus was denied.