Knee decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate medical examination and failure to address continuity of symptomatology.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and an addendum opinion regarding service connection for left knee, right hip, and left hip disabilities. The Veteran's left ankle disability is granted a 20% rating.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and a need for further examination. The Veteran's lumbar spine, right knee, and left hip disabilities are secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee injury, right carpal tunnel syndrome, and left carpal tunnel syndrome due to incomplete records from his National Guard service.

The Veteran's left and right knee braces cause wear and tear to his clothing, which qualifies him for a clothing allowance in 2019.

The Veteran's right total knee replacement is rated at 60 percent since August 1, 2020. The Board also granted eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of left knee arthroscopy, finding that his current left knee disability was not incurred or aggravated by military service and is not otherwise etiologically related to a right knee disability.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of degenerative arthritis of the thoracolumbar spine and left knee secondary to right knee, due to the appellant's death.

The Veteran's initial rating for left knee strain is being remanded due to an increase in his symptomatology since the last examination. He needs a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his disability.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is granted service connection, and an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for his left knee disability is denied. Other service connection claims are remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for a deviated nasal septum and denied service connection for left knee, left ankle, neck, low back disabilities, and malaria.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his left knee condition, respiratory conditions, sleep apnea, lower spine disability, and bilateral peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including service connection for various conditions and rating determinations. The specific issues are tinnitus, hypertension, sleep apnea, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, right lower extremity radiculopathy (claimed as right leg condition), and a psychiatric disability.

The Veteran's right knee disability is rated at 10 percent, the maximum under DC 5260. The Board finds that her symptoms do not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development to evaluate his left knee disability, including a new examination to determine the current severity of his chondromalacia and instability.

The Board has determined that additional evidence is needed to properly evaluate the Veteran's PTSD, right knee disability, and TDIU claims. The appeals are being remanded for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right knee disability, finding that it is related to his military service and granting the benefit of the doubt in favor of the claim.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were dismissed.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was granted as secondary to service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's left knee disability is being remanded for additional development, including clarification of the impact of pain on passive motion, weight bearing, and nonweight-bearing range of motion. The TDIU claim is also remanded due to its inextricability with the left knee claim.

The Board has restored the Veteran's ratings for his right knee post-traumatic arthritis, status post meniscal and cruciate ligament tears, limitation of flexion, from 30 percent to 20 percent effective May 25, 2017.