Knee decisions — 2017

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability was not incurred in or caused by service, and is not aggravated by any service-connected disabilities. As a result, the claim for service connection for right knee disability is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for an updated VA examination and consideration of recent medical records.

The Veteran's left knee and right knee disabilities are found to be related to his service-connected degenerative disc syndrome of the lumbar spine.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his left and right knee disabilities have been dismissed as the Veteran has withdrawn them.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining updated VA records and providing a VA orthopedic examination to address the current severity of any residuals of a left knee injury with degenerative joint disease. The examiner is also requested to provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that any right knee, left shoulder, cervical spine, or lumbar spine disorder is aggravated by the service-connected left knee disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a videoconference hearing and further development of his claims.

The Board has ordered a remand for additional development, including scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current severity of his right knee disability. The appeal is currently in remanded status.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development and examination of the Veteran's knee conditions, including consideration of his testimony about continuous pain over 20 years and an incident of being hog-tied during training.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining new VA examinations and obtaining any outstanding VA treatment records.

The Veteran's right knee disability was assigned a 10 percent rating prior to June 14, 2016 and denied an increased rating.

The Veteran's PTSD was found to have its onset in service, and the Board granted service connection for this condition. The claims of service connection for headaches and bilateral knee disabilities are remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess his ability to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities. The issue of TDIU rating will be adjudicated again after the examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and consideration of his TDIU claim, which was raised due to the service-connected left knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for sensory nerve dysfunction of the right knee, on an extraschedular basis, is being remanded due to a failure to refer the matter to the Director of Compensation Service as directed by the February 2015 Board decision.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and development of her claims.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the severity of his bilateral knee disabilities. The issue of entitlement to TDIU in conjunction with the right knee disability currently on appeal will also be addressed.

The Board found no evidence of chronic right knee or low back disabilities during service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection on a direct basis due to lack of in-service incurrence or aggravation.

The Board finds that there is no evidence to support a service connection claim for the Veteran's bilateral hip condition, as his current disability does not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.317 due to undiagnosed illness or qualifying chronic disability associated with his Persian Gulf War service. The Board also finds that there is no evidence of a preexisting degenerative joint disease and herniated lumbar disc shown in 1998, which would be aggravated by active duty service from February 2003 to March 2004.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an increase in rating beyond 10 percent for right knee limitation of extension or right tibia subluxation, and also found no basis to grant service connection for left knee arthritis as secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.