Knee decisions — 2015

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating and TDIU was granted effective November 14, 2002. The earlier requested effective date is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and SSA records, scheduling a VA examination, and readjudicating the claim.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling an orthopedic VA examination.

The Veteran's service connection claims for obstructive sleep apnea with fatigue, right knee arthritis, left hip arthritis, lumbosacral spine degenerative disc disease and cervical spine degenerative disc disease were granted. The effective dates for the right knee and left hip conditions are set at April 14, 2010, while those for the lumbosacral spine and cervical spine conditions are set at August 20, 2010.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be due to disease or injury in service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's GERD is rated as noncompensably disabling. The right knee disability has been granted service connection and assigned a 10 percent rating for the period from March 29, 2010 to December 17, 2012, and a 30 percent rating thereafter. Service connection was also established for bilateral foot disorder as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to reopen her service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, finding new and material evidence. The underlying issue of whether her current knee disabilities are related to active military service will be addressed in further development.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral knee degenerative joint disease did not result from a disease or injury incurred in active service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not render him unable to obtain and maintain gainful employment prior to March 5, 2008. Since then, he has had a combined evaluation of at least 60 percent for his service-connected disabilities, but the VA examiner found that these conditions do not preclude sedentary employment.

The Board has remanded the case due to issues raised by the Veteran's representative regarding a nexus between his service-connected right knee disability and his left knee disability.

The Veteran's right knee disability was rated at 30% prior to June 14, 2013 and at 60% as of that date. The psychiatric disability was rated at 50%. Both ratings were granted.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including a meniscal tear, was granted service connection and assigned a 10% rating. The Veteran also received an increased rating for his left knee instability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The initial evaluations assigned for the disabilities granted by the February 2009 rating decision are not supported.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and TDIU was denied. The RO granted a higher rating of 40 percent for limitation of flexion as of February 3, 2015.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee arthralgia is not related to his service-connected right toe disability, and therefore denied the claim for secondary service connection.

The Board found that the appellant's current right knee disability is not related to his period of ACDUTRA from February to March 1978, and it was not aggravated by this period. The claim for service connection is denied.

The Board found that the reduction of the evaluation for residuals of a left knee sprain, with injury to lateral collateral ligament and lateral meniscus from 20 percent to 10 percent was proper.

The Veteran's right knee disability, post-total knee replacement, is rated at 60 percent effective September 24, 2014.,Prior to September 4, 2012, the Veteran's right knee disability was rated as 10 percent.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, especially his cluster headache disability, which requires oxygen treatment, do not meet the schedular criteria for award of a TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a), but nonetheless are of such severity as to make him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral knee disabilities were aggravated by service, and thus service connection is granted for both left and right knee disabilities.