Knee decisions — 2021

The Board has denied a higher disability rating for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability and has remanded his claims of service connection for right hip, right shoulder, and left knee disabilities due to inadequate medical opinions.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling a VA examination. The Veteran's right knee disability is being reviewed to determine if it is related to his in-service injury from completing over 17 parachute jumps or his pain in 1968.

The Board has granted service connection for right hip osteoarthritis, trochanteric pain syndrome, and trochanteric bursitis, as well as right knee degenerative arthritis. The decision is based on the Veteran's credible reports of in-service injuries and continuous symptoms since discharge.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left knee, right elbow, and left ankle disabilities due to lack of examination. The claim for ear infection disability remains denied as new evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.

The Veteran's right knee disability was granted a rating of 20 percent from September 18, 1998 to June 20, 2016. The left knee issues were also addressed with the granting of ratings for meniscus disorder and arthritis.

Entitlement to increased ratings for bilateral knee disabilities was denied. The Veteran's right knee is currently rated at the highest schedular rating available under DC 5260, and his left knee is not more nearly approximating flexion limited to 30 degrees.,Entitlement to increased ratings for right knee instability and left knee instability were also denied. The Veteran’s right knee instability was assigned the highest schedular disability rating available under DC 5257, and his left knee instability was rated at the highest schedular rating available under DC 5257.

The Veteran's left leg and knee disability was rated at 20 percent prior to April 16, 2019, and increased to 40 percent as of that date.,A separate 10 percent rating for slight recurrent left knee instability is granted effective January 14, 2016.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals, fracture left tibia and fibula, midshaft was dismissed as the full benefit sought on appeal has been granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for neck scars was dismissed as the full benefit sought on appeal has been granted.

The Veteran's right knee disability is currently rated at 10 percent for pain alone, and the Board has found substantial compliance with remand directives. The case is being remanded to determine if a higher rating is warranted based on additional functional impairment due to flare-ups.

The Veteran's right knee osteoarthritis is rated at 30 percent disabling from March 19, 2015 to August 25, 2020.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right foot, left foot, right ankle, left ankle, right knee, and left knee disabilities, finding that these conditions are at least as likely as not related to his active duty service.

The appeal on the issues of entitlement to service connection for various conditions has been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

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

The Board denied service connection for left knee condition, right knee condition, neck disorder, and low back disorder due to the lack of evidence showing that these conditions began during active service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple issues has been dismissed due to the withdrawal of her appeal by her authorized representative.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left leg disability, including left fibular head fracture and knee disability. The Board found that there was no evidence to support that any current left leg disability was caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral pes planus.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection due to inadequate examinations, including failure to account for flare-ups. The effective date of TDIU is also on appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for status post right ankle osteomyelitis with a right below the knee amputation, finding that the preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that his disability was caused or aggravated by his service-connected peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for an addendum VA opinion regarding the Veteran's right knee disability.