Knee decisions — 2016

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verification of dates of service and a new examination to determine if any left knee disability had its onset during ACDUTRA or is otherwise related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed hand, ankle, and knee disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is currently pending and requires additional development, including a new VA examination for his right knee disability. His TDIU claim remains part of the appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to schedule a Board hearing at the appropriate RO.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a respiratory disorder (including bronchitis and COPD), residuals of a right thigh/hip injury, residuals of a left thumb injury, malaria, a right foot or ankle disability, a left knee disability, and a right shoulder disability.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his right knee disability was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of moderate or severe right knee instability, and there is no objective medical evidence of ankylosis, impairment of the tibia or fibula, or genu recurvatum.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected degenerative joint disease with low back strain, right knee osteoarthritis with limitation of flexion, and right knee osteoarthritis with limitation of extension. The evidence did not support granting higher disability ratings.

The Veteran seeks service connection for a left knee disorder that he contends is secondary to his service-connected right knee, low back, and bilateral ankle disabilities. The case is being remanded for an addendum opinion from the VA examiner regarding whether the service-connected bilateral ankle disabilities caused or aggravated the claimed left knee disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including scheduling a VA joint examination and referring the issues of an increased extraschedular rating and entitlement to TDIU to the Director of Compensation Service.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for his left knee disability was granted, but the RO discontinued the evaluation of the left knee based on degenerative joint disease and instead evaluated it as residuals of total left knee replacement. The Veteran appealed this decision, and the Board is considering whether he should receive staged ratings or an increased rating.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he withdrew his appeal regarding the increased ratings for residuals of a gunshot wound to the left leg and left above knee amputation (previously evaluated as osteomyelitis of the left tibia).

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his failure to appear for a scheduled video hearing. He has requested hearings on multiple occasions, and the Board finds this represents good cause for his absence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities, as well as a skin disability. The decision found that new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate these claims.

The Board has determined that there may be outstanding service treatment records and VA treatment records, which need to be obtained. The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded for further development.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development as it pertains to service connection claims for headaches, a right knee injury, hearing loss disability, and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's major depressive disorder and obstructive sleep apnea are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and major depressive disorder respectively. The claims for back disability and knee disability are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him in need of regular aid and attendance due to his physical and mental incapacity, which requires care and assistance on a regular basis.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities, as well as bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the failure to schedule a VA examination. The Veteran has not missed any other examinations before or since these knees.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional examinations and development of his claims, including for knee disabilities and a back disability.