Knee decisions — 2018

The Veteran's hepatitis C is granted as service connected. The claims for bilateral knee disability, hearing loss, and tinnitus are remanded due to incomplete records.

The Board has denied service connection for various hip, knee, ankle, foot, and hand disorders as well as bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions were not present during or related to service.

The Board denied service connection for right and left shoulder disorders, as well as right and left knee disorders, finding no evidence of in-service onset or continuity of treatment.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining recent VA or private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for service connection for diabetes, Graves' disease, hypertension, sleep apnea, left knee arthritis, or reflux.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the nature and etiology of his knee disorders, as well as the severity of his lumbar spine disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to conflicting medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's knee disabilities and hypertension, as well as a need for an examination to confirm a psychiatric disability.

The Veteran's non-service-connected disabilities are of sufficient severity to permanently preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment, and the Board finds he is entitled to non-service-connected disability pension benefits.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to assess his bilateral knee disabilities. An addendum opinion on service connection for left hip arthritis will also be obtained.

The Board has granted service connection for headaches and has reopened the claims of service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, back pain, neck pain, bilateral knee pain, alopecia areata, and hearing loss on a new and material basis. The Veteran's CFS claim is denied as there is no evidence of a qualifying chronic disability.

The Veteran's right ankle disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service. The Board denied service connection for his right ankle strain.

The Veteran's claims for increases in ratings for his low back and left knee disabilities are denied. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating for either disability at any time.

The Veteran's sciatica of the left lower extremity is rated at 20 percent since December 4, 2014. His patellofemoral syndrome of the left and right knees are both rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating and TDIU was denied. The claim for retroactive effective date for the grant of service connection for left knee strain/sprain is also denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims due to outstanding VA treatment records and need for additional examinations. The appeals are now pending again.

The Board has remanded the issue of an annual clothing allowance due to wear and tear on clothing caused by service-connected back and knee disabilities. The case will be reviewed again after obtaining a medical opinion.

The Board denied service connection for low back and right knee disabilities as there was no evidence of a chronic condition in service or continuity of symptoms since service, and the medical opinions were against a link to service.

The Veteran's current depression is caused by his active duty service and he meets the criteria for a TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for extraschedular ratings for his bilateral knee disability and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, as well as his claim for TDIU due to his failure to attend VA examinations.