Knee decisions — 2017

The Veteran's service connection claim for a left knee disability is denied as there is no medical evidence showing the current condition is related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder disability and denied service connection for left shoulder disability. The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 60 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available following one year of post-surgery status post total knee replacement.

The Board has granted service connection for fatigue and found that the Veteran's joint pain, including as due to Gulf War exposure, is related to his service. The right knee and back disabilities are presumed to have existed prior to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD rated at 70%, fracture of the left elbow rated at 10%, and degenerative arthritis of sacroiliac joint dysfunction and lumbar spine rated at 10%, do not preclude him from obtaining or retaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development due to insufficient medical opinions and clarification of events in service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and low back disorders, as well as his claim for right knee disorder. The decision found that new evidence did not relate to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate these claims, and that a right knee disability was not incurred in or related to service.

The Veteran's claims for a higher rating for his right knee disability and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran is granted a 10 percent disability rating for his right knee disability prior to April 23, 2015 and a higher than 10 percent rating thereafter.,The Veteran is granted a 30 percent disability rating for his headaches.

The Veteran's seizure disorder and patellofemoral pain syndrome/strain, left knee have resulted in a TDIU effective March 16, 2016. The seizures are rated at 100% disabling since that date.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss but denied service connection for a bilateral knee disability.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for bilateral knee disabilities and service connection for bilateral tibial tendonitis disabilities have been withdrawn. The claim of entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hallux valgus disability has been reopened due to the submission of new evidence that relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.

The Veteran's lumbar spine disability has been granted service connection and assigned a 20% evaluation effective November 30, 1998. The other issues remain pending.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show flexion limited to 30 degrees or severe instability, which are required for higher ratings under the applicable rating criteria.

The Veteran's chondromalacia patellae of the right and left knees are found to be related to service.,Service connection is granted for chondromalacia patellae of both knees.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical nexus opinion, and a supplemental VA opinion is needed to assess the etiology of the Veteran's left knee injury.

The Veteran's right knee patellofemoral syndrome and recurrent subluxation of the right knee are rated at 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively, effective January 16, 2008.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability is not related to his active military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a right inguinal hernia or left knee disability during service, and the Veteran's current symptoms do not meet the criteria for service connection. The Veteran's left cheek scar does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the appellant (Veteran) withdrew his appeal prior to a decision being made by the Board.

The Board granted service connection for a left knee disability and an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for CAD. The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for his CAD and degenerative disc disease was also granted.