Knee decisions — 2017

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be etiologically related to service, and he is granted service connection for this condition. The right knee disability issue remains pending as a remand has been ordered.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings and TDIU have been denied. The left ankle and left knee disabilities are currently rated as 20 percent disabling, which is the maximum schedular rating available under VA regulations.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current severity of his right and left knee disabilities.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for right hip and knee conditions, which he claims are secondary to his service-connected left knee disability. The Board finds that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's pes planus did not increase in severity during service and denied his claim for service connection. The other issues were either withdrawn or addressed.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death before a decision was made by the Board.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and left shoulder disabilities due to outstanding VA treatment records and a new examination.

Your claims for service connection for a lower back disorder and a bilateral knee disorder have been resolved in your favor. The RO has granted these conditions.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a thoracolumbar disability, but remanded to obtain additional development. The claims for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, right shin splints, left shin splints, and left knee injury are also remanded.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to assess the current severity of his right knee disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected right knee disability and obtain any outstanding records pertinent to his claim.

The Veteran meets the schedular requirement for a TDIU effective from June 3, 2014, and his service-connected disabilities render him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for bilateral hearing loss and right knee disability was denied. The Veteran's hearing loss manifested in no greater than Level I hearing loss bilaterally, while his right knee disability had a full range of motion as determined by the VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability is not related to his military service and does not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Veteran's right and left knee disabilities have been rated at 60 percent since October 1, 2008, for the period prior to October 17, 2011. The appeal is mixed as some issues are granted while others are denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current left knee and left shoulder disabilities are not related to his active service.,VA medical examinations have found no residual disability from the in-service injuries, and the Veteran's symptoms do not meet the criteria for continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities necessitate the need for regular aid and attendance of another person, resulting in a grant of SMC based on this need.

The Veteran's combined rating for service-connected disabilities is at least 70% since August 10, 2012. The Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective from that date.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a service-connected left knee, right hip, diabetes mellitus, or hypertension disability. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated at 10 percent prior to June 16, 2015. The Board found that the evidence showed left knee extension limited to 45 degrees.