Knee decisions — 2022

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right knee disabilities due to a lack of clear and unmistakable evidence regarding the preexistence of his congenital conditions, as well as potential aggravation during service. The case is sent back for further development including obtaining VA treatment records and an addendum opinion from a medical professional.

The Board has denied higher ratings for the Veteran's service-connected left foot and knee disabilities, and has remanded his claims of service connection for degenerative arthritis of the spine, right hip disability, and left hip disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to non-compliance with previous directives and insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's left knee disability. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar strain.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been reopened and is granted.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, low back disability, and right thumb dislocation have also been reopened and are granted.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations and medical opinions obtained are inadequate for addressing the Veteran's right knee and ankle conditions. The Veteran is therefore required to undergo additional examinations to determine the current severity of his knee disabilities, as well as a new opinion regarding whether his bilateral ankle conditions are proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's initial rating for left knee patellofemoral instability and subluxation is being remanded due to the need for additional information regarding her range of motion, including pain with weight-bearing.

The Veteran's claim for service connection of a chronic left knee disability and lumbar spine disability has been reopened, but the claims are not granted as there is no new and material evidence to support these conditions. The Board also remanded the cases for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, including headaches, head injury residuals, back injury residuals, broken left wrist residuals, and bilateral knee injury residuals. Additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's reserve pay records.

The Board has remanded the case due to procedural errors and additional evidence needs to be considered before a final decision can be made on the TDIU claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for left shoulder, bilateral knee, and bilateral foot disabilities due to parachute jumps in service. The case will be returned after obtaining relevant VA treatment records and conducting new examinations.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate medical opinions and further development is required. The right hip condition may be related to service, but not secondary to service-connected conditions. The back condition was likely preexisting and did not worsen during service. The hypertension claim requires additional evidence. The left knee condition also appears to have a preexisting defect.

The Veteran's bilateral ankle disabilities have been granted service connection. The left knee disability and allergic rhinitis are pending issues.,An effective date earlier than June 17, 2016 for the award of right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy is denied. A timely notice of disagreement was not filed with respect to the issue of an earlier effective date for a cervical spine disability.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is currently rated at 20 percent prior to August 7, 2018 and 40 percent from August 7, 2018 to August 27, 2020. The claim for increased ratings after this date remains pending.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disability and bilateral carpal tunnel disability are both remanded for further development.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of his right knee condition, and the Board dismissed the appeal due to this withdrawal.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left knee disability is caused by or aggravated by his service-connected right knee disability. Additional development, including obtaining new VA medical opinions, is needed.

The Veteran's initial rating for left knee arthritis based on limitation of extension was granted, and her total left knee replacement residuals were also granted. The ratings are effective from the dates specified.

The Board has granted service connection for left hip and right knee disabilities as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected left knee disability.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate etiology opinions and insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral knee disorder. The claim will be returned for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and providing an updated opinion.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings of his service-connected right ankle and left knee disabilities have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating in any of these cases.