Knee decisions — 2017

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are not of such nature and severity as to have prevented him from securing or following any substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for right hand, left hand, and bilateral knee disorders. However, the claim remains denied as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbar strain, right knee sprain, and recurrent left ankle strain are being remanded due to inadequate VA medical examination reports that failed to comply with the Court's holdings in Mitchell v. Shinseki and DeLuca v. Brown.

The Board has granted a rating of 20 percent for the Veteran's left knee disability and a separate 10 percent rating for his right knee instability/subluxation, both effective from September 2015.

The Veteran's appeal for TDIU was dismissed due to his failure to provide necessary releases for VA to secure Workers' Compensation records, which are critical for evaluating his employability.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals regarding the increased rating for PTSD with brain syndrome and residuals of a shell fragment wound of the right knee, as well as the TDIU issue.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right total knee replacement warrants a rating of 30 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 5055. The evidence does not support a higher rating.

The Board found no evidence of an in-service injury or incident that resulted in the Veteran's current right knee disability, and thus denied service connection for this condition.,For his left knee disability, the Board determined there was insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the condition and service. The Veteran's left knee disability is not considered related to any incident during active duty.

The Veteran has withdrawn his claims for an increased evaluation for major depression and service connection for a left knee meniscal tear.

The Veteran's appeal for increased evaluations of his service-connected right foot and left foot disabilities has been denied. The Veteran is not entitled to a higher evaluation for the calluses on each foot, as they are rated at their maximum under the applicable rating criteria.,A separate, compensable 10 percent evaluation was granted for degenerative changes of the right foot.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current bilateral knee disability as the result of his active duty service and therefore denies the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's knee, shoulder and low back disabilities are not related to his military service.,There is no evidence of a pre-existing condition or injury in service, and any current conditions are more likely due to natural progression of age-related degenerative changes.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a Travel Board hearing. The issues of entitlement to service connection for right and left knee disabilities, as well as TDIU, are the focus of this appeal.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected anal fissure, tension headaches, left knee disorder, and right knee disorder.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to fully and fairly consider the Veteran's claims, including obtaining VA treatment records, private medical records, and a VA examination for his claimed disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's non-ischemic cardiomyopathy is not related to his service, and thus denied this claim. The remaining issues of bilateral ankle disorder, left knee strain, and right knee arthritis are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a new VA examination to determine the severity of his service-connected lumbosacral spine injury with degenerative joint disease and erectile dysfunction associated with total knee replacement, right knee. The claim will be readjudicated after the additional development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral knee disability, degenerative joint disease, or knee replacement due to service. The evidence shows no in-service injury or disease resulting in these conditions and there is no medical opinion linking these disabilities to service.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of June 28, 2011 for a 60% disability rating for ulcerative colitis is granted. The Board finds that the Veteran's symptoms more nearly approximate the criteria consistent with a 60% disability rating from the date of original diagnosis.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for external hemorrhoids and right knee chondromalacia, finding that his conditions did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA regulations. The claim for an increased rating for cherry hemangioma of the right upper back and eczematous dermatitis of the sole of the right and left foot is stayed pending resolution of a related case in court.