Knee decisions — 2017

The Veteran's cervical spine disability is rated as 20 percent disabling, and his hyperthyroidism is rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of these conditions.

The evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from engaging in substantially gainful employment prior to November 1, 2004. The Board finds that a TDIU on an extraschedular basis is warranted for this period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current low back, right knee, and head injury disorders are not related to his active service.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for all issues pending before the Board, including increased ratings and service connection claims.

The Board denied an effective date prior to September 4, 2012 for the grant of special monthly compensation at the housebound level due to the Veteran's TDIU being based on multiple disabilities and not a single disability rated as 100%.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating based on left knee surgery necessitating convalescence under 38 C.F.R. � 4.30.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and obtaining additional medical records. The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are at issue.

The Board found that the Veteran's low back, right knee and bilateral hip conditions were not incurred in service or related to his already service-connected left knee condition. The Veteran's headaches are also denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable, and the Board finds that TDIU is not warranted.

The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated as 10 percent disabling under DC 5260 for limitation of flexion. The examination did not show any ankylosis, dislocation, or instability warranting higher ratings.

The Veteran's appeal for TDIU was remanded due to a legal error in the previous decision. The case is now being referred back to the Director, Compensation Service, for adjudication of TDIU eligibility under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).

The Veteran's left knee disability is currently rated at 40 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating. The right ring finger disorder was not diagnosed or found to be service-connected.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's preexisting left knee Osgood-Schlatter's disease was not aggravated by service, and thus denied service connection for this condition. However, the Veteran's current diagnosed conditions of patellofemoral pain syndrome and degenerative arthritis are found to be related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for his left knee disability and TDIU, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under any applicable diagnostic codes.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including new VA examinations to evaluate the current severity of his service-connected lumbar spine and left knee disabilities.

The Veteran's right knee disability, characterized by posttraumatic arthritis and MCL strain, has been rated at 10 percent since March 2010. The RO found that the current rating adequately reflects his symptoms.

The Board has determined that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current cervical spine, left knee, and left shoulder disorders are related to his service. The VA examiner provided a clear conclusion with a supporting rationale for the GERD and OSA diagnoses.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claims for service connection for right shoulder, left shoulder, right knee, and left knee osteoarthritis conditions. The evidence received since the prior final rating decision relates to a previously unestablished element of these claims - whether the Veteran had current disabilities and if his conditions were attributable to service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for left knee arthritis and granted it, finding that there is a continuity of symptomatology since service and linking the current condition to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining a supplemental medical opinion from the VA examiner who performed the April 2011 examination and provided the June 2011 opinion. The Veteran's claim of service connection for her right knee disability will be reconsidered based on the additional evidence.