Knee decisions — 2016

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current disability related to his service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran has withdrawn her appeals for left knee osteoarthritis, right knee osteoarthritis, and thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis for ingrown toenails, thoracolumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, bilateral knee disabilities, or bilateral shoulder disabilities. Therefore, service connection is denied.

The Veteran's right knee arthroplasty is rated at 60 percent since July 1, 2009. The rating for the gunshot wound of the right knee remains at 30 percent.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities do not meet the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board found no evidence of current left or right knee disorders and denied service connection for these conditions. The Veteran's erectile dysfunction was not determined to be related to his military service, as it is considered idiopathic.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and private medical records, scheduling a new VA examination to assess his hiatal hernia with gastro-esophageal reflux disease, and scheduling another VA examination to evaluate the current nature, extent, and severity of his service-connected left knee post-traumatic patella femoral pain syndrome.

The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed as she has withdrawn her appeal of each issue.

The Board found that the Veteran's preexisting right knee condition was not aggravated by service and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left and right knee disabilities are not related to his service, as there is no evidence of a chronic disability manifested in service or within one year post-service. The VA examiner found that the Veteran's bilateral knee osteoarthritis was consistent with age-related bony changes rather than being related to an injury sustained during service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral knee disability is not related to her active service or any of her service-connected disabilities, and thus denied her claim for service connection.

The Board found no evidence to support service connection for the Veteran's low back and left knee disabilities, concluding that they are not related to his military service or any service-connected conditions.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic disease in service or within one year following service, and the Veteran's lay testimony regarding his onset of psychiatric disorder was not credible. The Board also found that there is no probative evidence linking any current left knee condition or frostbite residuals to service.

The Veteran's claim for higher initial ratings for his service-connected right knee disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating greater than 30 percent from June 27, 2008 to September 19, 2008 and from December 28, 2010 to August 8, 2013.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension has been reopened and granted. Service connection is also granted for arthritis of the knees, but his skin disability remains pending.

The Board finds that the Veteran's service-connected residuals of a left ankle fracture caused his bilateral knee and hip disabilities, thus granting these claims.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claims of service connection for left and right knee disorders, as well as his acquired psychiatric disorder. The evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether these conditions are related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left and right knee disorders are not related to his active military service.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this case.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for increased ratings for residuals of left knee surgery prior to January 14, 2015 and from January 14, 2015.