Knee decisions — 2018

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for bilateral knee disorder, and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between his current hip or low back conditions and his military service. His acquired psychiatric disorders were also not linked to his service. For his Achilles tendonitis claims, he did not meet the threshold requirements for increased ratings. The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied as well.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and providing the Veteran with notice of how to substantiate a claim for entitlement to TDIU.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary for the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral knee condition, kidney condition, and hypertension. The case is REMANDED to obtain medical records, schedule examinations, and provide a decision based on the evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes mellitus and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, rendered him unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment for the period from March 31, 2008 to November 4, 2015.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation beginning December 5, 2008.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment at any time since October 4, 2016.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development and readjudication of the claims, including a VA PTSD examination and addendum opinions on GERD, cervical spine, low back, and right knee disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected right and left knee disabilities.

The Veteran has withdrawn their appeals regarding the reopening of claims for sleep apnea, bilateral foot disability, and bilateral knee disability. The Board does not have jurisdiction to consider these matters.

The Veteran's right knee disability, characterized by painful motion and limited range of motion, resulted in a noncompensable initial rating. However, the Veteran was granted an increased evaluation to 10 percent effective January 1, 2006.

The Board has ordered a remand to obtain an addendum opinion from the VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's right knee condition is due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, including mentions of myalgia muscle pain and undiagnosed illness joint pain.

The Veteran's right knee disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating or separate compensable ratings, as his range of motion was within the limits specified in the applicable diagnostic codes.

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 evaluate his service-connected right knee disability.

From March 24, 2009, to January 12, 2017, the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone were not of sufficient severity to produce unemployability.,From January 13, 2017, the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right knee disabilities are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities from February 25, 2006 to July 22, 2008 rendered him unemployable due to his headaches and sinusitis.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to provide an adequate VA examination and address the issue of entitlement to a higher initial disability rating for his service-connected right knee strain.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the severity of his right knee disability and whether new evidence has been received to reopen service connection for right knee bursitis. The issue of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for right knee chondromalacia with patellofemoral degenerative joint disease is also being remanded.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to address the Veteran's bilateral knee disability claim, as the previous examinations did not consider all relevant evidence and opinions.

The Veteran's right knee strain is rated at 10 percent, and left shoulder strain prior to March 10, 2017 was also rated at 10 percent. Since then, the left shoulder strain has been rated at 20 percent.