Knee decisions — 2016

The Board finds the Veteran does not have a current right knee disability that was caused or aggravated by his lumbar spine disability or his active service. The preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran's claim seeking service connection for a right knee disability, to include as secondary to service-connected lumbar spine herniated disc with sciatica.

The Board found that the Veteran's left knee disorder was not incurred or aggravated during his active military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected lumbar spine disability has been granted, with the assigned rating of 20 percent.

The Veteran's lumbar spine, cervical spine, and bilateral knee disorders are not deemed to be the result of VA carelessness, negligence, or lack of proper skill. The Board finds that the additional disabilities were not caused by VA.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back strain and bilateral knee strain are related to service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed left and right knee disorders are not related to his military service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to inadequate medical opinions and incomplete VA treatment records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU as a result of service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not related to his military service and have denied all of his claims.

The Board has remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with a Joint Motion, including consideration of additional evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral knee disabilities are not service-connected due to lack of chronicity in service and no continuity of symptoms since service.

The Board found that the Veteran's right knee arthritis is not causally related to his military service and denied his claim.

The Board has granted service connection for residuals of a right thumb laceration and remanded the remaining issues due to new evidence received since the last decision. The Veteran's claim for bilateral shoulder disorder, neck/upper back disorder, lower back disorder, and bilateral knee disorders is still pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 50 percent disabling from August 16, 2013. The Board finds that the evidence supports a higher rating for his left knee disability.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder, joint pain disorder, reaction to an anthrax shot, migraine headaches (secondary to PTSD), chronic fatigue, sleep apnea, lumbar spine degenerative joint disease, right knee degenerative changes, and fibromyalgia. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service.

The VA examiner determined that the Veteran's current right knee disabilities are not related to service or her service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling a right knee examination, and issuing a supplemental statement of the case regarding service connection issues.

The Board has determined that arthritis of the bilateral knees was incurred in service, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant before a decision could be made.