Knee decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for sleep apnea, an acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD and anxiety disorder), bilateral shoulder condition, and bilateral knee condition due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's depressive disorder is granted as secondary to service-connected disabilities. The cervical spine disability is not rated higher than 20 percent, the left knee disability remains at 10 percent, and hypertension is also rated at 10 percent. GERD receives a 10 percent rating. TDIU is granted.

The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for a right leg disorder due to insufficient evidence and need for clarification regarding the nature and onset of the Veteran's current right leg disorders.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, finding that the Veteran's injuries were caused by his own willful misconduct.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a bilateral knee disability, hypertension, and hepatitis C due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran's attorney. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of his knee and back disabilities, as well as diabetes. The claims are being returned for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's right knee degenerative arthritis with lateral instability is granted service connection as it manifested to a compensable degree within one year of separation from service and is not attributable to intercurrent causes. The claim for dermatochalasis of the bilateral eyelids is remanded due to inadequate examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his service-connected lumbosacral spine, left knee, and skin disabilities are being remanded due to the need to associate missing VA examination reports with the claims file and obtain new examinations.

The Board denied service connection for a left shoulder disability, low back disability, bilateral knee disability, and PTSD. However, it granted service connection for insomnia disorder.

The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to schedule a VA examination for the left knee disability. The claim will be returned to the RO for further action.

The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities, heart disability, and PTSD significantly impact his ability to function in an occupational setting, preventing him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted entitlement to a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disability (TDIU).

The Veteran's PTSD, bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, left hand osteoarthritis, low back disability, left foot disability, right foot disability, left knee osteoarthritis, right knee disability, bilateral eye disability, stomach disability, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), and headache disability are all granted as service-connected.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disorders, including right knee disorder, back disorder, cervical spine disorder, and carpal tunnel syndrome, all of which are claimed as secondary to his service-connected fibromyalgia. The VA is directed to obtain additional medical opinions regarding these issues.

Service connection is granted for tinnitus. Service connection is remanded for left knee disability.

The Veteran's claim for a temporary total evaluation following his right knee arthroscopy is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the length of postoperative convalescence and private treatment records.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for blurred vision, bilateral hearing loss, dizziness, inhalation injury, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with intervertebral disc syndrome, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, sleep apnea, GERD, status post excision benign skin mass on the right wrist with residual scar, headache disability, left cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome, right cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and PTSD have all been dismissed due to withdrawal of appeals by the Veteran.,The Veteran's appeals for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left ankle disability, right ankle disability, left foot disability, and right foot disability are being remanded for further development.

The Board granted service connection for PTSD and granted initial ratings for various conditions, including left shoulder DJD, left knee DJD, right knee DJD, bilateral plantar fasciitis, left and right ankle DJD, and hiatal hernia with GERD. The claim of service connection for a left elbow disorder was dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeal.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for his service-connected left and right knee disabilities, as well as his degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine. The reasons are that a new VA examination is needed due to the passage of time since the last VA examination and because the prior examinations were inadequate in rendering opinions regarding additional functional loss during flare-ups.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient analysis regarding whether his lumbar disability was incurred in service or pre-existed. The issues of secondary service connection are also being remanded as they are inextricably intertwined with the primary claim.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and he was granted a 30% rating for unspecified anxiety disorder with effective date of September 29, 2015. The other conditions were not found to be service-connected.