Knee decisions — 2020

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that additional VA examinations are needed for the Veteran's left knee conditions and remanded the case due to procedural issues with his TDIU claim. The right knee replacement cases have been remanded as well.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and failure to consider functional loss during flare-ups. The Veteran is required to be afforded a new VA examination for his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's left knee osteoarthritis is aggravated by her service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability related to his service or secondary to his service-connected residuals of a right distal femur stress fracture.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran's right knee degenerative joint disease, finding that the evidence did not support such an increase.

The Veteran's petition to reopen claims for left knee, bilateral hearing loss, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities have been granted. The claim for diabetes mellitus has been denied.,The Veteran's hypertension and erectile dysfunction claims are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, meniscal tear, and status post medial femoral condyle fracture is rated at 20 percent. A separate 10 percent rating for instability is granted.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including upper and lower jawbone loss, status post nasal cartilage fracture with anosmia, right shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis with degenerative joint disease, left knee strain with degenerative arthritis, right knee strain and degenerative joint disease, and lumbosacral strain. The Board found the evidence did not support a service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability, finding that there is no evidence linking his current condition to his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right knee disability as there is no current evidence of any functional impairment or loss of earning capacity associated with the condition.

The Board has denied service connection for eczema, right shoulder disorder, right leg disorder, left ankle disorder, right ankle disorder, and left knee disorder as there is no evidence of current diagnoses with respect to any of the claimed disorders.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for his right knee condition, finding that the evidence did not establish a nexus between his current condition and his in-service injury.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his service-connected left knee replacement is being remanded due to the need for further development, including an examination of the current severity and functional impact of his condition.

The Veteran's claim for a clothing allowance in 2014 was denied because there is no evidence that she used a physician-prescribed medication for a skin condition due to her service-connected right knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the claim of entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for right leg below the knee amputation due to a lack of sufficient information in the medical opinion provided by VA.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right and left knee disabilities due to the need for additional development, including new examinations. The TDIU claim is also remanded as it may be impacted by the development of the knee disability claims.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to a lack of VAMC records spanning from January 1998 to May 1999. The Veteran's knee conditions are secondary to his service-connected right ankle condition, but additional development is needed to determine if any ambulation difficulties or instability due to the right ankle condition cause or aggravate the knee conditions.

The Board denied service connection for right knee, left knee, right ankle, and lower back disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.,Service connection was not granted as the Veteran's claimed disabilities are not shown to be related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's left knee disability was rated at 60 percent from January 1, 2012 through July 29, 2012 and from October 1, 2013 onward. The TDIU issue for the period from August 1, 2009 through November 7, 2010 was remanded.