Knee decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, as well as his claims for increased ratings for right and left knee disabilities. The remand is due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions.

The Board has granted a TDIU for the period prior to July 24, 2006, due to the Veteran's service-connected right knee disability preventing him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's right knee disability and bilateral hearing loss are being remanded for further action, including the acquisition of private treatment records. The TDIU claim is also being remanded due to its inextricability with the other issues.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prior to January 31, 2013 did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's right knee disability and arthritis, finding insufficient evidence to link these conditions to his active service.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his right knee disability was denied as the evidence did not show that he had limitation of motion or instability to a degree warranting a compensable rating prior to August 20, 2014. Effective August 20, 2014, the Veteran was rated at 10 percent based on arthritis with painful noncompensable limitation of motion.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disorders are related to his service. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's left knee conditions were incurred in or the result of his service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee disability, finding that there was no direct or secondary service connection based on lack of evidence showing chronicity in service and continuity of symptomatology. The Board also found no aggravation by his service-connected left knee disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected right knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating is not warranted. The issue of TDIU prior to September 16, 2012, remains on appeal as the RO did not grant benefits for this period.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, a heart disability, bronchitis, and a left shoulder disability. The right knee degenerative joint disease claim was remanded.

The Veteran is granted a disability rating of 80 percent for his neuropathy of the left lower extremity from June 29, 2016 to January 30, 2019. The condition was found to be complete paralysis during this period.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left hip condition, left knee condition, and back condition due to unclear medical evidence regarding the nature of his scoliosis.

The Board has granted appeals to establish clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the June 1997 and June 2007 RO rating decisions that denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right shoulder, right knee, and left knee. The criteria for service connection have been met, and the claims are granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right and left knee conditions, as well as bilateral ankle and left shoulder conditions. The cases are being remanded to provide further examinations and opinions.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death, and the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of his claims.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete records and insufficient opinions in previous examinations. The Veteran's right and left knee disabilities, as well as his throat cancer, are being reviewed again with new evidence and examinations.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the inadequacy of a February 2017 VA examination report. The Board will schedule the Veteran for a new VA examination to determine the severity of his right knee disability.

The Board has granted compensation for the Veteran's right knee disability under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a fall after surgery, finding that it was caused by VA's fault.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for a left knee disability due to inadequate examination and incomplete medical records.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining updated treatment records and attempting to obtain SSA records.