Knee decisions — 2022

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral knee disabilities have prevented him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation since June 8, 2010. A total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is granted from that date.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right elbow, right knee, and left knee due to a lack of substantial compliance with prior remand directives.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral knee conditions, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his current knee disabilities and his military service.

The Veteran's left knee disability is rated at 10 percent for instability and 30 percent for flexion impairment. A TDIU was granted effective August 12, 2021. The appeal for an increased rating prior to that date has been denied.

The Veteran's back, right knee, and left knee disorders were not shown as chronic in service or within the applicable presumptive period. The evidence does not establish continuity of symptomatology since service.,The Veteran's bilateral eye conditions (myopia, chorioretinal scars, and staphyloma) are considered congenital defects and not diseases for VA compensation purposes. There is no clear and unmistakable evidence that these preexisted service or were aggravated by service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral pes planus, headache disability, right knee disability, and left knee disability due to insufficient service records and inadequate medical opinions. The claims will be reviewed again with additional evidence and examinations.

The Board has ordered a remand for further examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's right knee disability, as the previous VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran's lay statements about in-service and post-service symptoms.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development to obtain physical therapy records and medical opinions regarding the appellant's claimed neck, shoulder, and back disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including bilateral knee and ankle disabilities, acute pancreatitis, heart disability, and colonic polyps, diverticulosis, and irritable bowel syndrome. The reasons given were that the Veteran did not have chronic or recurrent conditions during service or within one year of separation, and there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss and increased ratings for left knee instability prior to July 2018, but remanded the issues of increased ratings for right knee instability and right knee flexion impairment. The Veteran's claims are pending further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for back and left knee disabilities, both secondary to his service-connected right knee disability, have been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render her unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, and the Board denied her claim for a total disability rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU).

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient VA examination opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and his service-connected left knee internal derangement with possible meniscus tear. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his right knee condition as secondary to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding that his character of discharge was dishonorable and served as a bar to VA benefits.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, sinusitis, skin condition of the feet (claimed as athlete's foot), ingrown toenail of the right foot, back condition, and right knee condition. The decision found no current disability for hearing loss or tinnitus that would meet VA compensation criteria.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient compliance with a previous remand directive, requiring an addendum medical opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities.

The Board has granted the petitions to reopen the previously denied claims for service connection of a right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right ankle disorder, and low back disorder. The Board found that these conditions were incurred in service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left knee degenerative joint disease with limitation of extension and flexion are remanded due to inconsistencies in the July 2019 VA examiner's findings. The Board requires a new medical opinion to reconcile these inconsistencies.

The appeal of the July 2021 rating decision, which proposed to award service connection for multiple disabilities according to the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), is dismissed.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine, joint aches, left hip, right hip, left knee, right knee, left ankle, right ankle, bilateral foot, psychiatric disorder, mitral valve insufficiency and coronary artery disease, hernia disorder, and dental disorders due to the need for further evidentiary development.