Knee decisions — 2016

The Veteran's right knee disability, including post-operative partial knee replacement surgery, warrants a rating of 30 percent from February 1, 2011 through March 2, 2015.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his left knee pain and joint pain conditions.

The Veteran's right knee disability, prior to April 2, 2012, is rated at 10% for degenerative joint disease. Effective June 1, 2013, he was granted a 30% rating for post-operative residuals of total knee replacement. The left knee disability remains denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for his claimed back, knee, ankle, and heel conditions as well as headaches. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The VA determined that there is no competent and credible evidence establishing a current right knee condition, thus denying the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee chondromalacia and found that the Veteran's current diagnosis of left knee chondromalacia was incurred in service. The issue of an increased rating for right foot great toe osteoarthritis is remanded due to a lack of recent VA treatment records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including left knee arthritis, bilateral elbow and hand arthritis, back disability, bilateral ankle arthritis, lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and dental trauma. The appeals were based on a claim of cold weather injury during service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and right axilla phlebitis are denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities during the period of the claim.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection of right knee disorder, right ankle disorder, or bilateral hip disorder. The claim for service connection for a bilateral hip disorder is denied as there is no direct evidence linking it to military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right knee strain and degenerative changes are proximately due to her service-connected chondromalacia patella of the left knee and service-connected radiculopathy of each lower extremity, thus granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and VA treatment records. The Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a left knee disability and allergic rhinitis are being reviewed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back and left knee disabilities did not have onset in service or are not related to his active military service, including his service-connected bilateral pes planus and residual cold injury to the bilateral upper and lower extremities. The evidence does not support a finding of secondary service connection.

The Veteran's right knee arthritis, characterized by pain and joint effusion with non-compensable limitation of motion, was found to warrant a 10 percent evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5257 for slight recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for separate evaluations based on instability of his service-connected right and left knee degenerative arthritis, finding that there was no evidence of recurrent subluxation or lateral instability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent her from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation based on her education and work experience prior to August 13, 2009.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is denied as he has been gainfully employed since November 1994 and his employment does not meet the criteria for marginal employment.

The Veteran is entitled to a TDIU rating on an extraschedular basis effective from April 27, 2006 due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and SSA disability determination records. The issue of service connection for a left knee disorder will be reconsidered after the completion of this development.

The Veteran's appeals are based on three different rating decisions. The Board is remanding the case for scheduling a Travel Board hearing to address his claims.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a lumbar spine disorder and granted it. The Veteran's bilateral knee degenerative joint disease is found to be related to his period of active duty service.