Knee decisions — 2019

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability has been reopened, but the Board finds that additional evidence is needed to determine if it is related to his service.

The Veteran's asthma was granted service connection as it is presumed to have existed prior to service and not aggravated by service. Other claims for various conditions were denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination, requiring a retrospective medical opinion regarding the Veteran's left knee patellofemoral stress syndrome and flare-ups.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, right knee, and left shoulder disabilities due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for arthritis of the right knee and arthritis and degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine with right lower extremity radiculopathy, finding that these conditions began during active service.

The Veteran's heart disability, bilateral pes planus, left knee disability, and right knee disability are all denied as not incurred or related to service. The claims for these conditions have been remanded for further development.

The Board has decided to remand two issues related to the Veteran's right knee disability, including scheduling an updated examination and determining its current severity.

The Board has dismissed the appeals seeking service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine condition, lumbosacral strain (also claimed as thoracic spine condition), left knee condition, right knee condition, left wrist condition, right wrist condition, right shoulder condition, and left ankle condition. The appeal is dismissed due to a lack of a valid substantive appeal.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a left knee disorder and PTSD with other specified depressive disorder were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection due to lack of continuity of symptomatology or causation, and the rating assigned was appropriate given her current level of impairment.

The Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder and anxious distress has been rated at 30 percent, but the Board has determined that a higher rating of 70 percent is warranted due to occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further examination regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected conditions render him in need of aid and attendance or housebound.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection of a left shin disorder is dismissed. The claim of service connection for a left knee disorder is remanded.

The Veteran's initial ratings for patellofemoral syndrome of the left knee and left knee instability have been denied as his conditions do not warrant higher disability evaluations.

The Veteran was not in receipt of, nor entitled to receive under governing statutory and regulatory provisions, compensation for total disability due to a service-connected disability for a continuous period of eight years prior to his death. Therefore, the claim of entitlement to enhanced DIC under 38 U.S.C. § §§ 1311(a)(2) is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for left and right knee degenerative arthritis with Osgood-Schlatter's disease, but the issues of service connection for a left hip disability and bilateral hearing loss are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disability, and right knee disability due to new evidence being needed.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral knee disability, back disability, and large diastasis rectus with no small neck. The claims are based on a finding that these conditions were at least as likely as not caused by an injury in service.

The Veteran's claims for initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for DJD of the right and left knees, as well as his claim for TDIU prior to October 13, 2014, are being remanded due to inadequate development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee disability, left knee disability, and bilateral sub-centimeter pulmonary nodules (claimed as lung condition).,There is no evidence of any chronic knee conditions during or immediately after active service. The VA examiner found that the current knee disabilities are less likely than not caused by military service.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development and clarification of the Veteran's service connection and evaluation requests.,An effective date of February 27, 2001, is granted for a 40 percent rating for lumbar spine degenerative disc disease. Other issues remain pending.