Knee decisions — 2015

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including psychiatric disorders, hypertension, tinnitus, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, left hip disability, right knee and left knee disabilities, right ankle and left ankle disabilities, left heel disability, and left shoulder disability were denied as the evidence did not support a nexus to service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his active service. The other issues remain pending and will be addressed in a separate decision.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his right knee disability, and for any outstanding private treatment records to be obtained.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically depressive disorder NOS, has been granted.,Service connection for a left knee disability was also granted. However, the effective date of this grant is set at February 25, 2009.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and readjudicating the claims on appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for a Board hearing. The issues of entitlement to service connection for left knee tendonitis, right knee tendonitis, and a chronic back condition are pending.

The Board has reopened the claims of entitlement to service connection for a right shoulder disability, left wrist disability, upper back disability, mid-to-low-back disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right ankle disability, and PTSD. The Veteran's reports of inservice acoustic trauma are accepted as credible evidence of an in-service event. Service connection is granted.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on all issues has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of the substantive appeal regarding bilateral knee osteoarthritis. The remaining claims have not met the criteria for service connection.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability and granted it, finding that new and material evidence had been received to support the claim. The right knee disability is found to be related to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral knee disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and thus denied his claim for service connection. The TDIU issue is also denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to scheduling issues for a hearing before the Board. The Veteran's claims for service connection remain under review.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his representative, resulting in the dismissal of the case.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for right and left knee arthritis is denied as the evidence does not show that either knee has limitation of motion or extension to a degree warranting a higher rating.,Both knees have been rated based on limitation of flexion, with no more than 10 percent disability assigned in each knee.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for the residuals of his left tibia and right third metatarsal fractures were denied. The Board found that these disabilities did not meet or approximate criteria warranting a higher rating under applicable VA regulations.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims to reopen for service connection for residuals of a back injury, right shoulder disorder, left leg disorder (including left thigh, knee, and foot), right leg disorder (including right thigh, knee, and foot), left shoulder disorder, heart murmur, and vision disorder. Effective dates have not been established.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, with the exception of his claim for hyperlipidemia. The remaining conditions include an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and anxiety disorders), bilateral knee osteoarthritis, hearing loss of the left ear, sleep apnea, hypertension, a low back disorder, bilateral hip osteoarthritis, tinnitus of the right ear, folliculitis, resection of left eye pterygium with residual faint nasal conjunctival scar, recurrent nasal pterygium of the right eye, and TDIU. The Veteran's hyperlipidemia claim is pending.

The Board has ordered a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any currently diagnosed right knee and right leg disabilities, including their relationship to service-connected lumbar strain. The claims will be readjudicated based on this new evidence.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for chondromalacia of the left knee, status post arthroscopy is granted. A separate 10 percent rating is also granted for slight lateral instability of the left knee from May 7, 2014 to August 19, 2014.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions and evidence, including VA treatment records from the Washington D.C. VAMC.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted, with some conditions receiving a presumption of herbicide exposure and others being granted based on the evidence presented.