Knee decisions — 2020

The Board denied service connection for right knee and left knee disabilities, but granted service connection for PTSD with depression and anxiety.,Secondary service connection was granted for the Veteran's left knee disability as it is related to his right knee disability.

The Veteran's bilateral knee disability is denied as there was no evidence of a current disability related to service.,Service connection for headaches, to include as secondary to TBI, is denied due to lack of evidence linking the current condition to service or TBI.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include depression and anxiety, is denied as there is no evidence showing it was incurred in service.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not shown by VA standards.

The Board denied the claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities, finding no evidence of a causal link to active service. The claim for left foot/pes cavus was remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension and remanded the cases of increased disability ratings for right and left knee disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right shoulder disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, and right ankle disability are dismissed due to the grant of these conditions in a previous rating decision. The claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted as secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has dismissed the appeal regarding the Veteran's request to reopen a claim of service connection for a left shoulder disability. The claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities, lumbar spine strain, and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for a bilateral shoulder disability, left knee disability, and bilateral ankle disability due to insufficient evidence regarding their relationship to service. Further development is needed.

The Veteran's right knee disability has been granted a separate 10 percent evaluation for subluxation and lateral instability, and a 20 percent evaluation for dislocated cartilage with frequent episodes of joint pain and effusion.,The Veteran's left knee disability has been granted a 20 percent evaluation for dislocated cartilage with frequent episodes of joint pain and effusion.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of a right knee disability, so the issue is dismissed.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right knee and left knee DJD. The claims for service connection remain pending.

The Veteran's service connection claims for recurrent left knee injury residuals and tinnitus have been granted. The claims for prostate disorder and recurrent sleep disability (including obstructive sleep apnea) are denied.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 40 percent for the Veteran's left knee disability, finding that his symptoms did not warrant such a higher rating based on limitation of motion and meniscal symptomatology.

The Board denied service connection for various knee, hip, foot, and nerve conditions. The decision also denied a higher rating for migraine headaches and PTSD.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions due to additional VA records being added to his case file.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current condition is as likely as not related to her military service. Service connection was denied for a left knee disability due to lack of evidence showing it was incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected back strain, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and bilateral plantar fasciitis due to a lack of a complete record. The VA is instructed to schedule the Veteran for examinations to determine the current severity of these disabilities.

The Veteran's right knee osteoarthritis and associated meniscal tear were rated at 10 percent prior to March 23, 2016. A separate rating of 20 percent was granted for the semilunar cartilage dislocation.

The Veteran's headaches are rated at 30 percent prior to January 25, 2014 and 50 percent thereafter. Effective June 10, 2010, the Veteran is granted a TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's left knee disability, including a tear of the medial meniscus and posttraumatic chondromalacia, resulted in an initial rating of 10 percent from July 17, 2018 to November 7, 2019. The additional disability rating of 20 percent was granted for left knee extension limitation to 10 degrees.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for tension headaches was denied as the evidence did not show very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.,The Veteran's anxiety disorder was rated at 50 percent, which is the highest schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 9413.