Knee decisions — 2015

The Veteran's initial ratings for left knee internal derangement and instability have been denied as his conditions do not warrant a higher rating based on the current evidence of record.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not related to his active duty service and have denied all of his claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, as well as providing the Veteran with a new examination to evaluate his knee and lumbar spine disorders.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of skin disability has been reopened. The Board granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD, effective July 25, 2007. Other issues remain pending and are remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a videoconference Board hearing.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeals regarding his service-connected bilateral pes planus, bronchitis, pseudofolliculitis barbae, back disorder, and right knee/leg disorder. The claims for pseudofolliculitis barbae, back disorder, and right knee/leg disorder were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a right knee or left knee disorder that is related to his military service. The VA examiner found it less likely than not that any current degenerative joint disease of the knees is etiologically linked to his time in service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to evaluate the severity of his service-connected right knee injury, status-post medial plica repair. The Veteran contends that his disability rating should be increased.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability is being remanded due to insufficient medical evidence and the need for an opinion on whether his current right knee disability was caused or aggravated by his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and opinion regarding his ability to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and his right shoulder disability remains at a 10 percent rating. Both conditions are not found to warrant higher ratings based on the evidence of record.

The Board has determined that the Veteran needs additional examinations and remands for his claims due to inadequate examination reports in the previous rating decisions. The appeals are now REMANDED.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Travel Board hearing. Service connection claims for knee and back conditions are pending.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board finds that he meets the schedular requirement for TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee condition is not related to his military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's right and left knee conditions have been evaluated based on their current functional limitations, but do not meet the criteria for a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability, finding that new and material evidence has been submitted. The case is now remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete examination reports and additional development is required.

The Veteran's Meniere's syndrome is rated at 60 percent disabling, effective from the date of the decision. The Board found that her symptoms most closely approximated attacks of vertigo and cerebellar gait occurring one to four times a month.