Knee decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee arthritis and residuals of a right knee sprain, finding that his current condition is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury during ACDUTRA.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disorder, finding that there was no evidence showing it began during or as a result of his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for his right knee condition and service connection for bilateral planter neuropathy due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations. The Veteran is required to provide new VA examinations to address these issues.

The Board has reopened the previously denied claims of service connection for a right knee condition, migraine headaches, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include depression and compulsive eating disorder). The Veteran's right knee disability is proximately caused or aggravated by her service-connected left knee condition. Her migraine headache disability had its onset during active service. Her acquired psychiatric disorder, to include depression and compulsive eating disorder, also had its onset during active service.

The Board has remanded the claims for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, bilateral knee disability, headaches, cardiac disease, and memory loss due to insufficient information in the record.,The Veteran's DM is being remanded as there was no consideration of his lifestyle and diet during service or exposure to environmental hazards while serving in Southwest Asia.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disability is being remanded because the examiner did not consider the February 1993 report indicating degenerative joint disease, nor the Veteran’s history of knee pain since service.,The Veteran's headaches are being remanded due to insufficient consideration of his reported history and March 2015 VA treatment record.,The Veteran's CAD is being remanded as there was no consideration of his lifestyle and diet during service or exposure to environmental hazards while serving in the Persian Gulf War.,The Veteran's memory loss is being remanded due to insufficient consideration of his other diagnosed conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for migraine headaches, an increased disability evaluation for right-knee disorder, and a higher initial disability evaluation for residuals of mandible fracture.,There is no evidence showing that the Veteran's migraine headaches were incurred in or aggravated by active service. The VA examiners concluded that there was no nexus between the current migraines and service.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and remanded the issues of rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral knee osteoarthritis.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for low back, left knee, and right knee disabilities due to insufficient medical opinions addressing the Veteran's lay statements about in-service injuries.

The Board has granted an effective date of June 22, 2009 for the resumption of VA disability compensation benefits due to a debt from separation pay. The Veteran did not file a claim within one year prior to her second period of active service.

The Veteran's nonpainful residual scars of the left knee are currently rated as noncompensable.,The Veteran is seeking an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a painful residual scar of the left knee, but this claim has been denied.,A rating of 20 percent for an unstable and painful residual scar of the left knee since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the left knee with recurrent instability is currently rated at 10 percent.,A rating of 30 percent for degenerative arthritis of the left knee with recurrent instability since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's painful motion with flexion of the left knee prior to July 8, 2019 is rated at 10 percent and a separate noncompensable rating for degenerative arthritis of the left knee with limited extension since June 21, 2019 has been granted.,The Veteran's service connection claim does not involve any presumption or exposure basis.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine the severity of the Veteran's right knee disability, and thus remands the case for further action.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disability, including medial collateral ligament strain and osteoarthritis, is presumed to have been incurred during service due to a traumatic incident in basic training.

The Veteran's appeal regarding a rating in excess of 10 percent for left knee bursitis is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling an examination to assess the severity of her service-connected condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete or missing service records, and a need for VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions and need for additional evidence. The claims include lumbar strain, degenerative joint disease of knees, osteoarthritis of shoulders, headaches, and memory loss.

The Board has denied service connection for right and left knee osteoarthritis as the evidence does not show that these conditions began during or were aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's initial disability ratings for his painful left wrist scar, residual scars of the right knee, and other disabilities are denied. The Board finds that new examinations are needed to determine the current severity of these conditions.,The Veteran’s claims for increased ratings are REMANDED as there is insufficient evidence regarding the current severity of his right wrist, left wrist, back, right knee, left ankle, allergic rhinitis, and pseudofolliculitis barbae disabilities.

The Veteran's death was caused by multiple drug intoxication, with service-connected PTSD contributing substantially or materially to the cause of death. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death and service-connected burial benefits.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee, left foot, and bilateral knee disabilities. The Veteran's symptoms have been present since service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back and left knee conditions due to incomplete medical records, lack of a nexus opinion, and issues with continuity of symptomatology.